The Prince of Darkness
by Kryo2000
Summary: The tragic story of a child that was not meant to be.
1. Prolog

This is a side story of the AU fanfic "Purity and Corruption" but you don't have to know P&C in order to understand "The Prince of Darkness".

A long time ago Kryo and me started writing an AU story about Tenchi and Ryoko. With the years passing the story grew longer and longer, and though we tried, it turned out to be impossible to explain all the characters' motives and background. So we decided to deal with the missing details in two side stories- one written by me, the other by my brother Kryo. Mine is the task to write "The Prince of Darkness", because it has a lot of emotion and character development. But don't be afraid the plot also contains some action.

So simply skip the disclaimer and start reading. I hope my work is worth the time you spend on reading it,

Yours Tamrin

---

I have not created the Tenchi Muyo! characters in this story. They are property of AIC, Pioneer and Masaki Kajishima.

* * *

Prolog

Lightning flashed in the darkened sky. Suddenly everything that was usually covered by eternal night became clearly visible. Huge unshapely plants dwelling on the stony ground. Their leafless branches intertwined with each other up to double man's height, creating an impenetrable net of skeletal wood. Within a second the light faded away, leaving nothing but gloomy shadows.

The hooded man didn't move in the slightest and even when the earsplitting thunder rumbled on he didn't even blink. A week breeze wafted his long grey coat backwards, revealing the handle of a light sword. His right hand closed around it but before the usual feeling of safety could spread through him another flash lit up the surroundings.

This time it took him less than a second to make out everything, including the path he was supposed to take. Without further hesitation he closed his coat and left the huge artificial clearing where his tree-ship was waiting.

When darkness enveloped him once again he slowed down a little to avoid any unpleasant collision with one of the stray branches reaching out to block his path. But soon he realized that such precaution was unnecessary. The sky was brightened up nearly every five seconds and the way was far too broad to make an unpleasant encounter possible within the short periods of darkness.

Feeling the soft remains of recently deceased organisms beneath his boots he wondered if it had really been necessary to burns a ten-meter broad pathway through hundreds of plants. Of course landing a ship would have been difficult with the dense vegetation, but only an unsound mind would come up with the idea of clearing a way to walk with the board cannons.

Judging by the straightness of the firebreak it was most likely that it had been created like this. The end of the way was still out of sight, but walking at his current speed, he was sure he would reach his destination soon.

Indeed it took him only some more minutes until he finally saw it. Like he had expected not only the end of the way was illuminated by the lightning, but the outline of another man stood out as well. As the thunder roared again he stopped and waited.

The man was quick to approach him, but kept a safe distance. Obviously he was uncertain of what to make of the hooded man's hesitation.

"So you finally succeeded." The sentence was meant as a statement but the tremble of anticipation in Yosho's voice turned it into a question.

"I did," Kagato said and removed his hood. "But maybe..." he made a strange pause. "... you expected more."

For a second Kagato could see a mix of confusion and distrust on Yosho's face, then it merged with the shadows again.

"What do you mean?" he asked. "Our deal was about the book and so all I expect is the book." Yosho totally overemphasized the last words, making it obvious that the Holy Book of Jurai was very important to him.

Kagato nodded but just to calm down the light tempered Juraian. He waited until the roar of the thunder died away, then he spoke up again.

"What you want, Yosho, is not the book, but the knowledge sealed within."

"You don't..." Yosho started, but was silenced by Kagato's resolute voice immediately.

"Of course I know what you try to achieve. It may look like I'm just a space pirate piloting a tree-ship, but I'm still a Juraian of royal blood. And as a Juraian I care for Juraian affairs." The next flash of light illuminated a rare cynical smile on Kagato's face. "Do you think I accepted your offer because I need some money or technology? The second you asked me to aquire the Holy Book, I knew that you were plotting against the empire. Our enemies are the same. That's why I helped you."

"Well... since we know now that we're on the same side..." Yosho said bored, "...give me the book."

"I said it already. What you want is not the book, but the knowledge within. The knowledge I can provide you. The book is useless now." The roar of thunder emphasized his words.

"You... you don't have it?" At first there was only surprise in Yosho's voice, but quickly it turned into anger. "Damn you bastard!" he shouted, drew his light sword and lashed out instantly.

Faster than the eye could follow Kagato drew his own weapon and fended off Yosho's attack. He simply ducked under another and blocked the third blow with his black blade. As the two weapons made contact a flash of light illuminated the two opponents. Kagato saw Yosho's face distorted by anger and hate and he felt, the pressure of the dark blue blade increasing.

"I will kill you, bastard." The fury of Yosho's voice was even greater than that of the thunder.

Kagato had a hard time holding himself against the young Juraian. He didn't understand how he could possess such power without using any of his Juraian abilities. This could have been quite a challenging fight, but rational as he was Kagato thought of a battle with his "ally" as unnecessary. He had to end it.

"If you actually manage to kill me, you will never get to know the location of the Prayer's Grounds."

Yosho stared at him and it seemed like what was left of his sanity had a hard time keeping his emotions in check. Finally the pressure on Kagato's blade subsided.

"Where is it?" Yosho asked in a lurking voice, barely concealing his hostility. His blade was still activated.

"The Soto-oh will send you the coordinates once I give permission." Kagato didn't lower his sword either, holding it in a defensive position in front of his chest, every muscle tensed.

"And why should I believe you?" Yosho snapped.

"Because I have no reason to lie to you." Kagato's voice remained calm. "If I didn't want you to get to the Prayer's Grounds, I would have never contacted you."

Lightning flashed again and at the same time a horrifying realization seemed to strike Yosho's mind. His eyes became wide.

"This means... you... but... why?" he stuttered.

Kagato decided to give him some time to let the truth behind his words sink in and remained silent. Fortunately, it didn't take too long.

"You... you said you're of royal blood. So you could have gone by our own. You said you also want to hurt the empire. So why don't you just go to the Prayer's Grounds and take the ultimate power for yourself?" His eyes thinned. "What are you planning, Kagato?"

"Nothing." Kagato said and deactivated his sword. "Rest assured that I'm not your enemy. I'm a space pirate and always will be. I have no intention of seizing power over the Juraian empire."

Yosho obviously wasn't satisfied with the answer. "But why are you supporting me?"

Kagato thought about the question for some seconds. He knew the answer, but he was trying to decide whether Yosho was worth to be told. Finally he made a decision.

"I want to see Azusa suffer," he said, but the thunder swallowed his words.

"What did you say?" Yosho asked impatiently as Kagato made no attempt to repeat his answer after the thunder had ebbed away.

Kagato shook his head slightly. "It's none of your business. Let's return to our ships and I'll give you the coordinates." With those words he simply turned around and walked away.

Had he paid attention he would have noticed the sound of an energy blade being deactivated and also Yosho's steps some distance behind him, but he didn't. His thoughts were drifting into the past. All the unpleasant images and emotions he had tried to seal away thightly had broken free and washed over him again.

A person like Yosho would never understand.

* * *

Chapter notes:

This was just to make the connection to "Purity and Corruption". So if you haven't read it you might not understand what all the stuff of the Holy Book is about. But that doesn't matter. The real story will start with the next chapter.

Last but not least thanks to Kryo for correcting my bad English.


	2. Duties of a Prince

I have not created the Tenchi Muyo! characters in this story. They are property of AIC, Pioneer and Masaki Kajishima.

* * *

Chapter 1 - Duties of a Prince

All was silent except for a low whisper. The air around him was warm and full of moisture. The powerful smell of grass and wood made the young man feel like he was sitting in the middle of a several thousand years old forest that covered an entire planet.

Throughout these centuries the trees had gained a wisdom that was impossible to assess for a person. Not even a Juraian, who had a much longer lifespan could evaluate the trees knowledge. But there was something he could do. He could listen to them. And when his concentration was completely focused on their low voices, he might even understand them.

But the young man with the dark purple hair hadn't come here today in order to hear what the ancient voices had to say. He had been listening to the meaningless talk of the forest since he was a little child. Now that he was on the verge of adulthood he wanted more. And he knew there was more to gain. Yarasho, his friend and intimate, was only a few years older but he had made his first contact long before his coming of age.

Azusa felt a wave of anger welling up inside of him. It wasn't fair, as it wasn't supposed to be like this. He was the son of the emperor and of all members of the royal family the heir to the throne should be the first to link to his wooden partner. Besides, Azusa had been the one of them who had always looked forward to finally get his very own tree-ship.

He completely gave up his concentration, stretched his legs and leaned back on his arms which he had crossed behind him. Tomorrow he was going to obtain his ship. Ready to lift off the vessel was waiting somewhere in the royal hangar. But it was merely an empty shell lacking the most important quality of a Juraian ship, its heart and power source. As long as Azusa was unable to bond with one of the seedlings, it couldn't be implanted and the ship would remain a tree-ship without a tree.

If he didn't want to stand out as a total fool on his birthday ceremony this evening, today was his last chance to bond. Right now only Yarasho knew that he hadn't been able to find his partner yet. But this evening it would be the main subject.

Azusa sighed. Maybe he was doing something wrong. Although his parents had told him so, maybe concentration wasn't that important. He closed his eyes and relaxed.

Again he felt the warm, moist air playing around his face, smelled the scent of the green and heard the trees whisper. But nothing more. Azusa tried to stay calm, tried to hold back the fury and disappointment. He didn't succeed. His mind returned from the peaceful old forest to the nursery. The whisper grew silent.

'Well...' Azusa stood and walked to the end of the platform. His resolute gaze wandered across the large green basins and the trees growing within. 'I will not leave until I've bonded to one of you.'

The young prince sat back down, his legs dangling over the ledge, and concentrated again. He was determined to get what he desired at any costs.

Right then he couldn't imagine that there would ever be anything more important to him than his bonding.

* * *

Someone knocked at the huge wooden door impatiently.

"Azusa, what's keeping you in there so long? Hurry up. Everyone is waiting," a deep and very impatient voice shouted from outside.

"Don't rush me. I can't do any faster," came the instant reply.

Yarasho leaned against the door, perfectly relaxed on the outside, but in fact he was quite worried. It was uncharacteristic for his younger friend to not be on time to such an important occasion, especially since he knew how mad his parents would get at his unfitting behavior.

Suddenly there was a loud crash inside. It sounded almost like a table had been knocked over and collided with another piece of furniture. Yarasho heard Azusa cursing inside but spared himself any further comment. Only when a number of hangers clattered to the floor he felt obliged to offer his help.

"Hey, everything all right in there? Or do you need a hand wrecking your furniture by any chance?"

"Stop talking nonsense, Yar. All I'm trying to do is find the right clothes. If you're so obsessed with being the first who arrives at the main hall, go ahead already!"

"I'm not obsessed with being the first. I just wanted to remind you that it's not suitable for the crown prince to be by far the last," Yarasho pointed out. But it didn't seem like Azusa was listening to him, because another series of curses about the absence of the chamber boy from inside was the only response.

After another couple of minutes the door finally opened and a well dressed yet grim looking Azusa stepped out.

Yarasho bowed to him. "Your highness. I'm glad you decided to join your own birthday ceremony."

Azusa gave him a dark look and simply walked past him.

"Hey, better get rid of that look. Tonight is very important." Yarasho easily caught up with his friend. As he moved to walk beside him Azusa gave him a serious glare.

"I know about the importance of the ceremony." Seconds passed in which neither of them spoke a word, then Azusa went on in a more friendly manner. "I'm not mad or anything. Just a little bit tired."

"Tired?" Yarasho laughed. "This might possibly be the single most important occasion in your entire life and you are tired? Everyone is expecting you to hold a moving speech. Your parents want you to get in touch with the council and other royal family members and... " he moved closer and lowered his voice. "... a whole lot of girls are waiting to dance with you."

Azusa emphasized his thoughts at the prospect with a snort.

"Just spare me with them. Maybe I'm not tired. Maybe I'm annoyed."

The entrance to the ceremony hall appeared at the far end of the corridor and Yarasho slowed his pace, forcing Azusa to do the same.

"What do you mean annoyed? Let me tell you this. A lot of people would give everything just to be in your position. As the crown prince and future Emperor of Jurai you have absolutely no reason of being unsatisfied with your situation."

Azusa knew that his friend was only trying to help him, but he still had to make room for his anger. Never had Yarasho been under the same pressure he was feeling now.

"Thanks for reminding me who I am. If it hadn't been for you, I might have forgotten." He gave him a sardonic smile and hurried towards the entrance.

* * *

"Dear members of the royal family, dear council members. Ladies and gentleman. I thank you for honoring me with your presence at this special occasion."

Azusa made a pause and glanced over the audience. Most of the spruced up people were unknown to him. Probably his parents would introduce every single one to him this evening. But until then he would ignore them and concentrate on the ones he knew. One of them, standing near the pedestal, was his friend Yarasho. It seemed like he wanted to tell him something. Just as Azusa realized what Yar's gesture meant, he was nudged by his mother ever so slightly.

"Go on," she whispered harshly and Azusa obeyed.

"Eons ago the goddess Tsunami herself handed a couple of seeds to our ancestors, hoping that they would give them strength and lead them into a bright future. The seeds have become trees and Jurai is now a flourishing empire. Thanks to the wise rule of the emperor and the council we have abolished crime and poverty. And protected by the most powerful fleet in the universe the people of Jurai and all its colonies can live a carefree life without any worries."

Some of those present nodded in appreciation. But Azusa hadn't expected any different, because he only told them what they wanted to hear.

"But today like in the past the holy trees are guiding us. They remind us of where we come from and what we once were. They are sharing their wisdom with us and help us in our most difficult decisions. For us they are a powerful intelligent vessel and a prudent partner."

At this point Azusa realized that most of the people did not quite understand where he was going. Only a quarter of them were members of royal families, who were able to bond to trees. So, not wanting to stir envy, he decided to cut short his praise.

"Today I'm not only becoming an adult, I'm also ready to get my own tree-ship. I have waited long and at times impatiently for this moment. Now I want to thank every one of you for celebrating this day together with me. May my ship help me to expand my mind so that one time I will turn into an emperor as wise and just as my father."

The applause lasted nearly three minutes. Within this time Azusa bowed once and received an appreciative glance from his parents and an amused one from Yar.

Another full hour passed until he finally got the chance to talk to his friend. Azusa was standing at the rim of the dance floor when Yarasho came to meet him.

"Great speech. I didn't know you're such a phony. With all this talk of Jurai's power you almost sounded like your father." Yarasho laughed and gave Azusa a friendly pat on the shoulder.

"What did you want me to tell them? That the Galaxy Police actually poses a threat to our hegemony with its current growth rate? Should I have told them that we don't know if the odds would really be in our favor, did it come to a conflict?"

"Hey, we're not preparing for war. So stop talking like that. Our ships are still light-years ahead of them anyway. They won't dare to meddle with our affairs."

Azusa nodded. "I hope so."

"Well than..." Yarasho continued after a short pause. "I'm gonna go and dance some more. After all your parents have invited some really beautiful girls." He winked ambiguously but Azusa was too surprised to notice.

"You're not going to dance with your girlfriend?"

"Hell, I can't dance with Sanara all the time. And besides, I know that you don't like dancing with girls you don't know, so I leave her to you. Enjoy yourself." Before Azusa was able to object Yarasho waved his goodbye and headed for the dance floor.

Azusa watched him dancing with the daughter of the council's chairman for a while. Then he decided to make the best of this terrible night and started looking for Sanara.

* * *

The empress was satisfied with the evening. She had been worried that her son would mess up his speech. Sometimes he had a tendency to act like the child of a commoner and not like the young prince of noble blood he was, but the contents of his speech had been exactly what she had hoped for him to say. Several people had congratulated her on such a kind and intelligent son. And although she would never admit it, she was just a little proud of him herself.

Her son had grown up and she suddenly had the certainty that he would once become a ruler as good as her husband. Her gaze moved over the dancing people as she looked for Azusa. The musicians were playing a slow waltz and she wondered who it was her son was dancing with right now.

She saw Yarasho, the only son of the family second to the throne of Jurai, dancing with the preceptor's eldest daughter. She was indeed a very beautiful young woman and the empress wished that her son would have at least a tiny bit of the interest in women that Yarasho had.

It was a too bad that only a few girls of royal blood were of Azusa's age. Of course her husband and her had already chosen the future empress. And now as their son had entered the world of adults it was about time to tell him. But since Azusa didn't seem to care much about the other sex they had decided to try and make it as easy on him as possible.

The last accords of the waltz faded and she noticed her husband, who had been talking to one of the guests all the time, making his way towards her. At the same time her gaze met Azusa. He bowed to Sanara, waved his goodbye somewhat inappropriately and left not only the dance floor but the celebration hall as well.

The empress ran her hand over her dark green hair, trying to suppress her anger.

"Anything to worry about, darling?" Her husband walked up to her side and tracked her gaze curiously.

"Your son left a minute ago." She could see his face turning a darker shade.

"Shall I sent some guards taking him back?" The question was a rhetorical one, because he knew that his wife would agree.

But much to his surprise she thought for a moment and refused.

"No. Let matters take their own course. Azusa is grown up now. We should let him take responsibility for his actions from now on."

A looked at her seriously and slowly shook his head. "I will be lenient this time. But I doubt that Azusa is willing to take responsibility."

* * *

Azusa slowly walked down one of the long corridors, headed for his chamber. It was almost midnight and though the celebration would last for at least another hour he hadn't been able to stand the dancing and talking anymore. Therefore he had decided to leave.

On the one hand he felt guilty but on the other it felt good to be rid of the royal crowd. Having to pay attention to every word he said really demanded a lot of concentration. And since he had been concentrating nearly the whole day, Azusa felt totally worn out by now.

The way back to his room seemed to be twice as long as usual. But he was unable to walk any faster. Visions of a soft, comfortable bed crossed his mind and made the corners of his lips move up into a silly smile. But it quickly disappeared as he recalled the current condition of his chamber.

Perhaps he was lucky and the misguided chamber boy had finally remembered his tasks, otherwise he would simply throw everything to the floor and take care of it tomorrow.

He reached the door and listened carefully for a moment. Low sounds were coming from inside his chamber, like somebody was rummaging through it. For a second the thought of calling for the guards entered Azusa's mind, but then he remembered who he was and extended his hand to operate the opening mechanism.

The door hadn't opened completely when Azusa already jumped inside, prepared to take on the intruder. But a high pitched scream threw him off balance and his smooth entrance turned into a clumsy stumbling. He had a hard time trying to keep himself from falling but finally he managed to restore his balance.

"What are you doing here?" he asked harshly, angry about his own misjudgment.

The young woman standing in the middle of the mess he had produced several hours ago blushed and she lowered her head so that her long black hair was covering her face.

"I'm sorry, sir." Her voice was no more than a whisper. "I was told you would be at the celebration until past midnight, sir."

"Well. As you can see, I'm not. Who told you?" Azusa still had no idea of why this girl had entered his room. She was dressed like a chamber maid but Azusa had never seen her before. She seemed slightly surprised by his question.

"Your mother, her highness the empress." She said like she was telling him something he was supposed to know already.

But Azusa hadn't known. And even now he thought it unlikely that she was speaking the truth. The mere thought of his mother sending a chamber maid to his quarters was preposterous. The empress had made no secret of being very concerned about his female acquaintances. The only reason he could think of for her to choose a chamber maid was, that there weren't any boys left to do the job. And that was indeed most unlikely.

"Do you want me to leave?" She let the blue Juraian robe she was carrying over her arm slip back down to the bed and made a step towards the door. But Azusa's broad shoulders were blocking the exit and he was not about to move. Her deep brown eyes looked at him expectantly.

"Should I go or ..." Her gaze traveled over the scattered clothes. "... do you want me to stay and..."

"No!" Azusa interrupted her and his loud voice left no doubt about exactly how unpleasant her presence was to him. She stared at him and he could see that she was taken aback by the harshness in his voice.

"I mean... You don't have to tidy up my room now. I'm sure the chamber boy can do it tomorrow just as well," he continued in a conciliatory manner and cleared the way to the door, but she only gave him a blank look.

"As you wish, sir. Then I will return tomorrow." The young woman bowed and was about to leave the room when Azusa spoke up again.

"Are you trying to play a joke on me?" he asked, struggling to keep his voice even.

"I'm not joking," she replied. "I'm your new chamber maid from now on. I hope you will be satisfied with my work, sir."

Azusa's jaw dropped open. "That's impossible," he barely managed to say.

The woman smiled, walked out of the door and turned around once more.

"May I suggest that you ask the empress to replace me by a boy if you are having difficulties with a girl doing this job for you? Good night, sir." She said in a serious tone, that stood in stark contrast to the mischievous smile playing around her lips. Then she turned and walked away.

Azusa watched her disappear down the hallway and closed the door.

He was confused, but soon his fatigue threatened to overwhelm him and he decided to think about the new situation tomorrow. With a couple of swift movements he threw the remaining clothes down from his bed and started taking off his Juraian celebration robe.

Some minutes later he was lying down, ready to drift off into the realm of sleep.

"What a strange day. It definitely was something special..." he thought and closed his eyes.

* * *

A strange feeling overcame him. He was on his way to his chamber but somehow he felt like he already knew this scene. Azusa stopped in midway and tried to analyze his deja vu. A look back made him aware that he couldn't actually remember where he had come from and as he turned ahead again he realized that he had no idea of what he was going to do in his room either.

"Hey Azusa! You've come so far. Don't stop now. Go!" Yarasho had approached silently and after he had spoken those strange words he disappeared in the same way, even before Azusa had the chance to say anything.

The young prince turned once more, but as he had expected the corridor was empty and so he continued into the direction of his room.

As he was about to open the door, he heard an unusual sound from inside. His curiosity peeked, Azusa pressed his ear against the strong wooden door and was surprised to find that somebody seemed to be crying in his chamber. It sounded like a child weeping over a terrible loss.

Normally Azusa would have gotten quite angry if he had found some crying kid sitting in his room, but now he just felt sorrow and pity. He opened the door and was shocked.

The room that had always served as his peaceful resting place had totally changed. The huge bed, the large wardrobe with the built in mirror, the table and all the other furniture were still just where they had always been, yet the whole atmosphere had changed.

The curtains weren't closed but the room was engulfed in darkness. Although it was possible to see every detail all things seemed to merge with the shadows. Dark purple petals of a flower Azusa recognized, yet was unable to call by its name, were scattered all around the floor. At the first glance their arrangement was totally random but the longer Azusa stared at them the more he got the impression that they were supposed to lead him over to the bed, which was located at the other end of the room right beneath one of the windows.

Then he became aware of the soft crying again. He couldn't see the child in the darkness but the sounds seemed to be coming from the direction of his bed. Slowly Azusa walked over to it, trying to avoid stepping on one of the petals.

But the crying seemed to decrease in volume at the same rate at which he approached the window and when he finally reached his sleeping place it had completely died away and there was nobody there. Instead red candles caught Azusa's eye. They were placed on the bed much like they were surrounding an invisible body, but like the body the flames of the candles had disappeared. All that remained was a shadow of sadness.

Suddenly Azusa felt that he wasn't alone any more.

"Azusa."

The voice was speaking directly to his mind and he couldn't say whether it was male or female. All he knew for sure was, that it was a gentle voice he had never heard before.

"Azusa."

The voice repeated and he felt how his sadness was replaced by contentment at its sound.

"Who are you?" he asked into the darkness.

"I'm the one you have always sought and the one you will never find."

Azusa was confused. "I don't understand."

"But you will. Soon."

Azusa shook his head slightly and decided to give it one more try.

"What's your name?" he asked.

"Names are pointless. I understand your wish to give me a name but you don't understand that there is no need for it. Nevertheless I will tell you how to call me. My name is ..."

Azusa heard the name within his mind. It didn't sound like a normal word, more like a combination of different sounds, unknown yet familiar. He wanted to remember the name so he tried to translate it into his own language.

"K... i... r... i... "

Azusa was woken by his own voice and all he remembered about the dream were the first four letters of a name he had never heard before.

* * *

Carefully he extended his hand. The ancient bark felt rough and for a second Azusa got the feeling that something within was pulsing. Like the never ending stream of life, he thought and slowly let his hand slide over the mighty trunk.

The sun hadn't been up yet when he had woken from his strange dream. But his thoughts had been stirred and so he had decided to get up. While getting dressed an idea had occurred to him.

Azusa took his hand off the old tree's bark and made a step backwards, so that he was able to watch the treetop. Up in a height of about 20 meters the green web generated by the thick leaf carrying branches got too dense for man's eye to penetrate.

The floating platform Azusa was standing on contained the soil for one of the oldest trees within the nursery. Actually it was forbidden to step on the platforms, but Azusa had ignored the rule. After all he knew that nobody else would enter here at this time in the morning anyway. He sat down on the soft grass covering the soil around the tree and closed his eyes.

Somehow he had hoped that the name he had called in his dream was a hint from his bonding partner. But now he realized that such a thought had been impudent. Kirito was one of the first generation trees and it was said that their place was in the nursery and only there, their task the production of powerful seedlings. Hundreds of years ago they may have served as hearts and power sources for ships but those times had long since passed. They had retried into silence for good.

"May I disturb you?" a female voice asked from behind.

Azusa turned around in shock and saw his new chamber maid standing at the edge of the platform. His expression hardened.

"How dare you step on this platform?" he snapped. "Who let you in anyway?"

But the young woman held his angry gaze, the smile never leaving her face.

"I've been searching for you. Master Yarasho told me you were here and he opened the door."

"Yar?" Azusa repeated. "He should know that only members of the royal family and their guards are allowed to enter the nursery."

"Of course he does," she replied.

Azusa nodded and stared at the young woman. He waited for her to continue and tell him why she had sought him out, but she remained silent, her eyes resting on him.

He noticed that she was really beautiful but banished the thought immediately by clearing his throat audibly.

"Is there any other reason you came here than to desecrate the holy ground?" he asked grumpily.

"Oh, of course. The emperor sent me to remind you to attend today's council session."

"Oh no." Azusa's expression changed into one similar to that of a person suffering from a painful disease. But it took him only a couple of seconds to restore his composure and speak with renewed resolution.

"Tell them I'm not going to participate."

"Well..." The woman didn't seem to be surprised by his answer at all. "What should I tell them as the reason for your absence?"

"Hell." Azusa stood. "Tell them I'm not feeling well. And now leave." He dismissed her with a gesture and walked around to the other side of the tree.

There he sat down, legs crossed, and leaned his head on his folded hands. He had absolutely no desire to waste his time in a boring council session. Of course he knew that his parents would become very angry if he didn't attend and he also knew that it was the obligation of the future emperor to stay informed about the current political situation, but all they did was talk and right now he wasn't in the mood for talk.

Once again he wished he would be able to navigate his own ship. Then he could go on a warrior striving journey for some years, far away from all responsibility.

"It must be difficult to win the trust of such an ancient being." She hadn't left as her new master had instructed. Instead she was now standing in a respectful distance to the huge trunk, looking at Azusa's back.

"Indeed it is," she heard him murmur softly. Aloud he asked. "Why are you still here?"

She ignored his question and he didn't ask again. The young master was obviously lost in his thought. Maybe he believed her to be gone, maybe he didn't care anymore.

For some minutes she considered addressing him again, but then he suddenly spoke up.

"You haven't introduced yourself yet."

"I'm sorry. I totally forgot, because your sudden appearance last night was somewhat frightening."

Azusa murmured something she took as some kind of apology.

"Well, my name is Kiris and I'm glad to be of service from... now... ... on. What's the matter?"

At the same time she had mentioned her name Azusa had turned to face her, giving her a very strange look. Quickly his expression changed from confusion to slight embarrassment.

"It's nothing. I just thought I heard this name before."

"Maybe. My parents always admired Juraian royalty and their trees. I believe they called me Kiris, because it somehow sounded like the name of one of the first generation trees, what was it..."

"Kirito." Azusa said pronouncing the word in a strange way. "That is Kirito," he gestured towards the mighty tree next to them.

"Oh," she said and smiled at the old tree. "Nice to meet you."

Azusa jumped up and was just about to reprimand her for her rude behavior as she looked at him again, very serious.

"I guess it's about time. We have to go."

"What?"

"The council session is going to start soon. And I was ordered to escort you there once I found you."

She could almost hear how his mind was working, searching for a suitable excuse, so he would not have to join the session. Suddenly a mischievous smile appeared on his face and disappeared again as he became aware that she was still looking at him.

"So my parents told you to drag me to those windbags once you found me. Supposing you don't find me, I don't have to go. Simple."

"But I...", she tried to object but Azusa cut her short.

"You will leave the nursery now."

"I won't." There was a resolute sparkle in her eyes. "Either both of us leave or stay. If you force me to go I'll tell them where you are hiding."

"How dare you?" he snapped but thought quick and continued in a more casual manner. "Suit yourself!" He sat down again, his back turned to her. Obviously the conversation was finished for him.

Kiris shook her head and sat down some distance beside him.

* * *

The residence of the royal family, a giant estate, severed from colorful everyday life of the capital by an invincible wall on the one side and bordering on the royal woods on the other, was home to many hundred people. Only very few of them had royal blood flowing through their veins, most were officials, guards or servants. But still, the majority of the beautifully furnitured chambers were reserved only for members of the royal family.

One of those rooms was different from all the others. It surpassed most of the them in size, but was totally empty except for some randomly arranged logs on the ground. No painting was decorating the bleak walls, no chandelier brightened the room with its sparkling light. Instead the walls and ceiling featured fluorescent sticks, protected by a thin but resistant wooden net.

Right now darkness reigned supreme in the room and the tensed silence was only broken by his even breath.

He felt the familiar weight of the sword in his hand and was ready to strike from one second to the other now. But he had to be patient. He had to wait.

The sound of steps drawing near filtered in from outside. He moved into position, ready to attack. The door was opened and some of the dim light from the corridor fell inside. He was waiting in reach of the entrance, avoiding the treacherous light. The silhouette of a young man appeared in the door, hesitating a second in suspicion before he entered. He was carrying a weapon as well.

Speed was of the essence now. He had to strike exactly the moment the door was closed and darkness fell. It would be the only way to catch his opponent by surprise.

The door closed and the same instant the dark blue blade of a light sword flared up and licked for Azusa.

Taken over by instincts he dodged to the side and activated his own sword in the same motion. Not a second too soon, because the other blade was already coming for his chest again. Azusa brought up his weapon and parried the powerful blow. With a couple of fast steps he tried to retreat into temporary safety, but his opponent followed swiftly. Again and again the blades clashed and Azusa felt the power of the strikes increasing. He was driven back mercilessly.

Too late he realized that the ground beneath his feet was getting more uneven. The blue blade cut for his head and Azusa tried to block the attack and move back a step at the same time, but his feet met an obstacle, where his body didn't. So he lost his balance, fell backwards over the log, hit the ground and just kept lying there, angry over his own carelessness. However, for his opponent the battle obviously wasn't over yet. In a vertical movement he led his sword directly towards Azusa's unprotected form. Only an inch-wide from his face the blade was blocked by his invincible force field.

"Hey, that's not fair," Yarasho pouted and lowered his sword. The blue glow it had painted on Azusa's face disappeared. But the force field didn't dissolve and seemed to increase in intensity instead. In its pale blue light it was impossible to miss out on the rage that distorted Azusa's face.

"What do you think you're doing? Do you want to kill me?" There was such anger in his voice that Yarasho would have been frightened had he not known Azusa as he did. However, exactly because he knew him that well, he just stood calmly, waiting until the outburst was over.

"Attacking me in the dark. Are you nuts?" Azusa pulled himself up clumsily, until he was facing Yarasho eye to eye. "What if I hadn't put up my force field? Would you have killed me? Speak, dammit!"

He was almost shouting now, but Yarasho answered in a calm and slightly offended tone.

"Let me tell you this. I've been waiting for you for half an hour. We were appointed an hour after the council session. Well..." He looked his friend directly in the eye. "... first, you were supposed to attend the session, what you have not. Second, you let me wait here for half an hour without an excuse. So..." he smiled mischievously. "... I thought you deserved to be scared a little."

Azusa's look darkened and he was about to open his mouth to let lose another tirade, but Yarasho was faster.

"It was only a joke. Of course I had no intention to seriously hurt you. So calm down already."

"I will have my revenge," Azusa forced out through clenched teeth and the force field disappeared. "Lights on!"

Nothing happened.

"I have deactivated the voice interface," Yarasho admitted readily. "It would have been to risky leaving it on. Imagine all you had to do would have been to call out for light and our little fight in the dark would have lost all of its magic."

"You are crazy, Yar," was Azusa's only comment before he turned and searched the wall for the manual control in the glow of his sword.

It didn't took too long and the room was bathed in a dim twilight. Azusa returned and sat down on the log that had made him stumble. Yarasho took his place next to him, leaving some distance, just to be sure.

"So tell me, where have you been all the time? Your little beauty was looking for you. I let her into the nursery, because you're always hiding there."

Since Azusa didn't answer right away, Yarasho continued. "Don't tell me you weren't there. Man, I will never hear the end of it if they find out that I let a servant into the nursery just like that."

"I was there," Azusa said, much like it was answer enough to all of his friend's questions.

"Then I don't understand. The girl promised me to take you to the session. Have you sent her away?"

"No."

Yarasho looked at his friend dumbfounded, but Azusa didn't look at him and stared ahead with an expression made of stone. He didn't like the direction in which the conversation was going. Just as he had made up his mind to suggest his revenge, the young man beside him broke into laughter.

"You all right?" Azusa asked. The reason for his friend's sudden amusement was a mystery to him.

Yarasho gave him a suggestive look, still smiling.

"I got it. You've missed the session, because you had to stay the whole time with that little beauty."

Instantly, Azusa's face was on fire. "It's not what you're thinking."

"What am I thinking? I mean, a beautiful young woman and a powerful heir to the throne... in a forbidden place... together for hours. Much room for fantasy."

"Stop talking like that. She forced me to let her stay. And if you want to know the details, we just sat there in silence for almost an hour. The rest of the time we... talked."

Yarasho lowered his head in disappointment. "Everything else would have really surprised me. You still don't have the slightest interest in women, do you?"

"We've discussed that already." Azusa stood. "Time for revenge."

But Yarasho just ignored the challenge. "But this time it's a perfect opportunity. She's nice and beautiful. And as your..."

Azusa activated his sword. "Stop talking and fight."

"As your chamber maid she won't go against you. I think it's a fabulous opportunity to gain some..."

A fierce battle cry echoed through the room and Azusa's sword came down at Yarasho. He had just enough time to roll to the side before the light blade left a deep gash in the wood.

Yarasho jumped to his feet and caught Azusa's next strike with his own blade.

"I hope you'll show me a better fight this time," he said and for a long time there were only the sounds of two light swords meeting each other again and again.

* * *

Chapter notes:

First chapter is done and as you might have noticed the scenes as well as the whole chapter are much shorter than in P&C.

I hope I haven't messed up with the characterization of Azusa, since he is supposed to be as close to the original as possible. All the other characters are thought up anyway. If you like them, I'm glad to tell you that they will carry the story on for the next two chapters. If not, well, up from chapter five new ones will be introduced. So stick to it, the whole thing will get more interesting soon.

I would be happy if you dropped me a review,

Yours Tamrin

BTW, thanks again to Kryo who spent his precious time to work through my writings.


	3. Freedom of a Man

I have not created the Tenchi Muyo! characters in this story. They are property of AIC, Pioneer and Masaki Kajishima.

* * *

Chapter 1 - Freedom of a Man

It was a sunny afternoon, the song of birds drifting through the mild air. Two figures, one male one female, stepped out of one of the many portals leading out of the royal palace. The young woman was wearing a colorful Juraian robe and the wind played with her long brunette hair ever so slightly.

"What a wonderful day," she said and took a deep breath of fresh air.

"Thanks to weather control," the young man walking beside her replied with a grin.

Though it wasn't a traditional robe, the outfit he wore still had a very formal look to it. Obviously both of them had just come from some occasion.

They remained in the gateway for a second, taking in the beautiful scene laid out in front of them, before they decided for a pathway seemingly at random.

"What do you think about the emperor's announcement of his journey to the remote colonies?" he asked to start a conversation. But the woman just looked at him, somewhat bored.

"I agree with him. Our empire covers countless worlds all over the galaxy. He is the emperor of all those planets so I guess he should be present in the outer regions as well. And since there is no current threat to Jurai prime his presence here is not a necessity." She made a short pause but continued before he had a chance to reply. "Please Yarasho, stop talking about today's council session. Let's change the subject."

"As you wish." He nodded but she knew that he was disappointed about her aversion to talk about politics.

"I really enjoyed yesterday evening."

Yarasho gave her a strange look, uncertain why she was warming up this subject again. They had already talked about Azusa's birthday celebration in detail last night. Nevertheless he responded.

"Yes. It was great. If you ask me, it was even better than the last one." He smiled mischievously and added, "Or at least the girls were more beautiful."

"You!" Sanara raised her hand like she was going to slap him, but her sour expression wasn't genuine. It quickly turned into a smile. "You're ridiculous."

"That's why you love me, isn't it?" he asked in a playful tone.

But before she was able to respond a movement attracted her attention.

"Hey, it's Azusa over there, isn't it?" she pointed at a moderately clothed man moving towards the forest at a rather swift pace.

Yarasho watched him for a moment. "Broad shoulders, a plait, improper clothes and walking way too fast to look his status. It's definitely him," he concluded.

"I wonder why he is in such a hurry to get into the woods." Sanara gave her friend a questioning look but he just shrugged it off.

"I don't know. Maybe he is going to meditate." In fact Yarasho knew that his half-hearted guess couldn't be right. Meditating was the last thing Azusa was going to do in the forest. Through the last months Yarasho hadn't even seen him in the nursery, which was a much better choice for someone who was trying to achieve a bond.

"Would you meditate in the woods?" she asked not convinced of Yarasho's words.

"No," he admitted. "But I'm not Azusa." 'And sometimes he does things I would never do,' he added in thought.

Sanara looked at him with suspicion. They were being together for almost four years now, so it was justified to say that she knew him quite well. She knew when he was trying to make fun of her or when he was saying things just to tease her. And she knew when he was hiding something.

"Azusa has changed during the last year," she stated.

"Well. He's finally grown up."

"That's not what I meant." Sanara tried to read Yarasho's expression, but he looked away. "Remember his birthday one year ago? He danced with me almost the whole time and I got the impression that he was really annoyed by the occasion. But yesterday evening he was the perfect gentleman, asking a lot of young woman to dance. I was really surprised. I don't know how to say, but he seems more contended now."

"Maybe he is," Yarasho said as if he didn't really care about Azusa's state of mind.

"Hm." Sanara nodded and remained silent for a while. But just as Yarasho was about to heave a sigh of relief she spoke up again.

"I don't want to interfere with other men's business, but could it be that Azusa has already found his bond?"

"Without telling me?" Yarasho seemed to be slightly offended. "No. If he had found a partner, I'd be the first to know. There would be no reason to hide it anyway."

"You're right. I guess he would go through the ceremony immediately and say goodbye to Jurai for a while." She smiled imagining what kind of adventures Azusa would face then.

Suddenly she became aware of another person walking towards them. As they moved closer Sanara realized that it was a young woman, wearing a plain blue dress emphasizing her slim figure. Two long black plaits swayed with every step she made.

"It's Kiris." Yarasho said pleased and added whispering, "Without the chamber maid's dress, she looks really cute."

He got an elbow into his side immediately. "Indeed. It's hard to recognize her." Sanara whispered back just before the chamber maid came into earshot.

Kiris stopped and bowed slightly. "Miss Sanara, Master Yarasho."

The young pair slowed their pace to a halt as well.

"A nice day to take a walk," Sanara said and saw a faint hint of red flushing over Kiris' cheeks.

"Indeed it is, ma'am," she replied trying to avoid Sanara's gaze.

"Well then...," Yarasho took his girlfriends arm and gently pulled her along. "... enjoy your day, Kiris," he said and gave her a wink just as he walked past her.

Sanara noticed neither Yarasho's wink nor Kiris' red face as the young woman hurried away. However, she got a really bad feeling all of a sudden.

Yarasho said something but she wasn't listening. A terrible idea had come to her mind and as she turned around once more she found herself proved. Kiris was headed for the woods.

"Hey, Yarasho." Sanara grabbed his arm rudely and forced him to stop. "Don't tell me she is the reason of Azusa's contentment." Her voice was full of anger.

"Well, maybe she is," he shrugged. "What does it matter?"

"What it matters? She's just a chamber maid." Sanara got annoyed at her friends ignorance. "This relationship is going to lead into disaster!"

"Calm down, San. Don't begrudge him a little fun."

"Fun?" Her eyes sparkled. "Maybe for you it would be just fun. But Azusa is different. He's probably taking the whole thing serious."

Yarasho shook his head. "Serious? You said it yourself she's his chamber maid, so how could he take it serious?" Sanara was about to respond, but Yarasho continued in a reassuring way. "Let's head for the fountain. And believe me, there's absolutely no reason to worry."

"I doubt that," she replied and remained silent for the rest of the walk.

* * *

A soft breeze was blowing through the leaves. But except for the rustling sound it produced only the distant song of the birds could be heard. Azusa was resting against the trunk of an old tree, watching his surroundings.

The old tree was located in the outer region of the Royal Woods. There was no pathway leading to it, which was the reason why Azusa liked this place so much. During his childhood whenever he had had a quarrel with his parents, he had often come here to hide. It had always been a safe place and it still was.

But today, like all the other times throughout the past months, he hadn't come to visit the old tree because he had had an argument. Azusa smiled internally. The reason was a more pleasant one.

He heard the snap of twigs and seconds later a blue shape came into sight. Azusa felt his heart beating faster as a smiling Kiris stepped towards him.

"Hello. I hope I didn't make you wait too long," she said in her wonderful soft voice. Her beautiful brown eyes were resting on him as if she was waiting for something.

"No," he answered after a moment and shook his head. "And even if, ...I... would have waited... as long as I had to." That wasn't what he had wanted to say. He had planed to tell her that he would wait for her for all eternity if he had to, but it sounded so stupid in his ears. What he had said made no sense either, nevertheless Kiris seemed to understand. She smiled and took his hand.

"Want to go to our place?" she suggested and Azusa agreed.

Their place was the narrow line of meadow between the woods and the outer wall. Usually nobody would get the idea of walking along the huge wall that separated the royal idyll from the bustle of the city below. So the quiet meadow was a place where nobody would disturb the heir to the throne and his chamber maid.

Azusa waited until Kiris had taken a seat next to the wall and placed himself beside her, paying attention not to sit too close, which was indeed unnecessary because they had already been as close as possible before anyway.

"So you attended the council session today?" she asked knowing that starting a conversation was the easiest way to get Azusa to relax some more. And it worked.

"Of course I did. But like the last time there wasn't really much to discuss. My father announced that he was going to undertake a three months journey to the outer regions of the empire. This was somewhat unexpected, especially so because my mother is going to accompany him."

"They didn't tell you before?" Kiris watched Azusa and he shook his head curtly.

"There was no reason for them to do so. The head of the second house, Yarasho's father, is going to be the deputy in the emperor's absence. He is a wise man and a capable leader. I doubt that there will be any problems."

Kiris nodded slowly. "Times are quiet. Let's just hope it will stay that way. So when are the emperor and his wife going to take off?"

"Next week," Azusa answered immediately.

Kiris didn't respond anymore. She just stared to the ground obviously lost in thought. Her fingers were playing with a dark purple flower, one of the many that surrounded them.

He kept watching her beautiful face and then, all of a sudden, felt the urge to kiss her. Slightly embarrassed he turned away and cleared his throat.

"Well... another topic was the preceptor's suggestion to have more men stationed in the capital. He explained that the activity of some smuggler gangs had increased and they were about to become a threat to economy. I think he overestimates their influence, but of course I understand that we have to put an end to scum like them. "

Kiris nodded and Azusa continued trying to avoid another moment of unpleasant silence.

"Last point was the admission of a planet called ...", he scratched his head. "Nah... I forgot."

Now she looked up and smiled at him. "Names don't matter."

"Right. It was a rather small and distant planet of no importance anyway. But its sovereign sent his only daughter to marry one of our royals. Yarasho told me afterwards that she's supposed to be a beauty and that a member of the fourth house already claimed her."

"Are you sure about that?" Kiris asked slowly, still brushing her fingers over the petals of the little purple flower.

"Well, of course not. It was just what Yarasho told me. I don't know where he got his information, but usually he is right when it comes to such things. What does it matter?" He looked at her, but their eyes didn't meet.

Her fingers closed around the stem of the flower and without effort she tore it off.

"Nothing."

She wondered if Azusa really did not realize the implications of the story he just told her or if he simply suppressed such thoughts. A member of the royal family marrying a beautiful princess from a small kingdom far away. Yet she couldn't reproach him for it. Right from the beginning she had known that there would be no future in their relationship, but she had denied the truth, had clung to the faint hope that everything would work out, that they would run away together.

"What's wrong... why the sad face?" His voice was soft and filled with emotion. It was the same voice that had made her realize his feelings for her back then.

Her attempt to give him a smile failed miserably. "It's just...," she couldn't go on because she felt her eyes swelling with tears.

Azusa watched her, struggling with himself. He wanted to comfort her, wanted to touch her and make her laugh again. But there was still a voice in his conscience that was trying to keep him back, telling him that it was simply wrong to care for his chamber maid in such a way. And yet he loved her.

Kiris felt a warm hand touching her face and closed her eyes. Little wet drops were running down her cheek.

"I'm sorry," she whispered and wiped them away.

Azusa gently pulled her into his embrace. "Why are you crying?" he asked meeting her moist brown eyes.

He didn't get an answer, instead she leaned forward and kissed him. First he was surprised but soon he returned the kiss. It lasted only a few seconds but for this short time Azusa felt complete. Everything that had occupied his mind before, every worry became unimportant. Once again he realized that the young woman in his arms was more than he could ever wish for. And never would he give her away.

"You're crushing me," Kiris squeezed out. Azusa let her go and apologized quickly.

"It's ok," she responded a little more cheerful now. "But I better get going. There's still a lot of work to do." She rose, causing Azusa to do the same.

"My room is quite messy too, so..." He trailed off.

"Well...," she said with a suggestive smile. "I guess this particular job will have to wait until late evening. Am I right?"

He nodded, a huge grin on his slightly flushed face. "See you then." He quickly kissed her goodbye and out of habit she gave him a curt bow before she walked away, the flower still in her hand.

As she was out of sight he sat down again. He had gotten to know Kiris as a bright young woman who was full of life and spirit. But recently she seemed to be shaken by sudden fits of sadness more often. He wondered what depressed her. Maybe he should ask her tonight.

* * *

He didn't ask her that night, not the one after, not one of the nights they spent together throughout the next three months. And she didn't tell him either.

She tried to forget about the dark shadows of the future when she was together with Azusa. Mostly she succeeded and they spent wonderful hours. In the nursery where he often took her while his parents were on their journey, in the gardens and in his room. As she snuggled up to his warm body one of these nights, she would never have imagined that their relationship was going to last only two more weeks.

The deafening roar of an explosion tore the night apart.

Azusa opened his eyes and saw a red glow chasing the darkness away outside. Immediately he sat up.

"What was that?" Kiris clung to him fearfully.

"I don't know. But I will find out." He shoved her arms away and moved to the window that was only a few steps away.

As he opened it screams of fear and barked orders invaded the room. Quite a number of guards and knights had gathered near the fountain. Some of them were pointing in the direction of the woods, where a column of smoke rose up into the sky.

"There seems to be a fire." Azusa was taken aback. Somebody must have set fire to the Royal Woods. But who would dare to do such a thing and why?

"Did somebody throw a shell?" Kiris asked behind him her voice filled with terror.

"I don't know." He leaned out of the window and looked in the direction where the smoke was rising. The wood was dense over there, so he couldn't make out any movement on the ground. But if it was the beginning of an attack the intruders would have already reached the palace. Azusa leaned back and turned to his chamber maid.

"I don't think we have to worry," he finally said wearing an expression that told exactly the opposite. "Probably just some city kids who have overdone it."

"But... I heard an explosion," she uttered anxiously.

"You mean..." Azusa looked at her carefully and noticed the fatigue in her eyes. He hadn't heard anything, but obviously Kiris had been lying awake for some time. Considering that she was telling the truth, there was indeed reason to worry.

"I'll go take a look. You stay here," he decided, closed the window and started to dress. Kiris turned on a dim light and placed herself on the edge of the bed, watching Azusa, her uneasiness written all over her face.

He was just about to put on his boots as somebody knocked on the door, making him freeze in mid-movement. The knock was repeated, this time with more urgency and Azusa felt a panic quickly welling up inside of him. A glance at Kiris told him that she was experiencing the same.

'Fool!' he scolded himself. Whoever was outside there would never dare to come in without permission. And even if, there was nothing unseemly in the emperor's son having his chamber maid in bed. Nevertheless Azusa felt like a rabbit in a trap.

It knocked a third time.

"Who's there?" Azusa shouted firmly, moving to the door.

"It's Yarasho. Who else should it be, sleepyhead?" a well known voice replied.

Azusa heaved a sigh of relief. "Wait a sec."

He quickly finished dressing himself, and did not realize that Kiris had stepped up to him. As he was about to open the door two slender arms wrapped around his chest.

"Be careful, will you?" Kiris whispered unable to suppress her worry any more.

"I will," he promised although he didn't think that there was any threat waiting for him outside.

She let him go and stepped aside so she would be invisible from the other side of the door.

The door hadn't even opened completely as Yarasho already greeted his friend. "Man! Our palace would sooner be burned to the foundations than you would be ready to step out of your room."

"As much as I can see, there's no fire in here," Azusa replied coldly.

"It was just a joke." Yarasho gave him a grin but became totally serious the next moment. "Is Kiris with you?"

Azusa was too stunned to react, as Yarasho suddenly stepped past him and took a look into his room.

"Hey!" he shouted and tried to stop Yarasho, but his curious friend had already discovered the young woman behind the door.

"Nothing to worry about. I just wanted to..." He stopped in mid-sentence and eyed Kiris, much like he saw her for the first time. She was only wearing a nightgown and retreated a step becoming aware of Yarasho's strange look.

"What?" Azusa's voice was filled with anger, anger about his friend simply entering his chamber without permission and staring at his girlfriend like a lecher.

"What do you want?" he repeated with more urgency and pushed Yarasho out of his room.

"No need to get rude." Yarasho freed himself from Azusa's grip and smoothed out his clothes. "On the way here I heard that some of the chamber girls were searching for Kiris. So I came to tell her."

Azusa growled and turned around to Kiris. "You heard him? So better get going." After she had given him a nod he closed the door behind him and addressed Yarasho again.

"Was that all you wanted to talk about with me?"

Yarasho's expression was completely serious now. "Of course not. I also wanted you to join me in investigation of the latest happenings."

Azusa's anger was replaced by curiosity. "You know what's going on outside?"

"Well." Yarasho smiled confidently. "I've met one of the guard captains and he told me that somebody must have thrown some kind of fire bomb over the wall. The undergrowth caught fire instantly, but he said the knights were already on their way to kill it."

"They better do. In any case, if you are right, the damage will be minor. So who would risk such a foolish attack on the royal palace and why?" Azusa wondered.

The Palace had always been a sanctuary of peace and civilization, widely accepted as untouchable by the people. The mere thought of someone daring to attack it all of a sudden was frightening.

"I guess it's only a rumor but I heard that a certain smuggler gang is already under suspicion. But personally, I doubt they've done it. With a direct attack they would only prove the threat they pose and force the council to agree to the suggestion of having more men stationed in the city."

"You have a point there, but..." Azusa interrupted himself, as the door behind him was opened and Kiris stepped out. She was now clothed properly in her usual chamber maid dress.

"Thanks for the information, Master Yarasho." She bowed slightly towards the young man and then looked at Azusa. Something in her eyes made him feel uneasy, but she just said goodnight and hurried away.

Yarasho's gaze followed her and he nodded in appreciation. "A beautiful girl indeed. But it almost seems like she has gained some weight since she's with you. Oh well, the life of nobility. It's probably difficult for her to accustom to." He grinned as if he had made an especially educated joke.

Azusa felt anger rising up again but he decided to ignore the words. "I thought we wanted to investigate. So come on," he ordered.

Yarasho nodded, grinning even more and both of them made their way out of the palace.

* * *

They hadn't been allowed to look at or even come close to the place where the fire had raged. The knights had vanquished it immediately but the traces had still been visible on the next day. An area of about ten square meters, covered by nothing but black ashes. The trees next to it had lost all their leaves to the heat and Azusa remembered that their bleak look had instilled a strong feeling of sadness in him back then.

Standing in the same place now, two weeks after that incident, he realized that the trees were regenerating even faster than he had expected. The sun was just about to make contact with the horizon and the small water droplets on the tiny green leaves and buds shone in the dusk.

The one responsible for the fire had been arrested a couple of days ago. The emperor himself, who had just returned from his journey, had announced the sentence. The lunatic would stay in a Juraian prison cell for the rest of his life. And Azusa was satisfied with it.

"What are you thinking about?"

Kiris' voice made him remember that he wasn't alone. He had come with her to this place with a certain intention.

During the last weeks she had withdrawn more and more into herself. She had cleaned up his room only when he was with Yarasho and rejected his invitations. Whenever they were together she was taciturn and depressed all the time. Even her question had carried a sad undertone.

"I thought about the crazy guy who did that," he pointed at the still recovering patch of grass and wood.

Kiris nodded somewhat disappointed and followed Azusa, who left the pathway to cross the scarred place and walk over to one of the trees which had remained untouched by the fire. The ground was still moist from the rain weather control had scheduled this afternoon, so Azusa stopped and turned around to face Kiris.

She wasn't wearing her usual uniform or one of the other dresses he had seen on her. Instead her body was covered by a rather long and loose fitting robe. Upon second thought, he realized that Yar might have been right with his comment back then.

"Don't look at me like this," begged Kiris. Her voice was low but full of despair.

"Sorry," Azusa replied but Kiris had already turned away. He didn't need to see her face in order to tell that she was crying again. He stepped up to her and gently put his arms around her waist from behind.

At first she winced, but then she allowed the contact and relaxed.

It wasn't easy to overcome his hesitation, but finally Azusa forced himself to say what had remained unspoken for too long now.

"It's been nearly half a year we are together now? Those months have been the most joyous ones in my life and nothing has changed with that. Nevertheless I see you crying so often now. What's wrong? Maybe I won't be able to understand, but I will try."

She remained silent, but he felt the soft touch of her fingers on his arms. And after a while she started to talk.

* * *

At nightfall Azusa had tried to find some sleep, but without success. Too many disturbing and outright unpleasant thoughts had been swirling around his mind. Then he had decided to go to the nursery. It had been strangely quite there, almost like the trees themselves were resting. Azusa had taken his place at the edge of a platform and had kept thinking as long as he had stayed awake.

Now he stepped out into the dawn over the palace. But it was dawn only by daytime, for dark clouds covered the sky and a harsh wind blew. Azusa knew that it was going to be a rather cold and stormy day, but he hadn't been able to stand the musty heat of the nursery any longer. After the experience he had made this night, he needed some fresh air, even if it was cold and unpleasant.

For some minutes he simply stood there unmoving and enjoyed the feeling of the wind playing with his hair. Then he took one of the pathways leading into the woods, towards the small river. Originally he was supposed to meet with Yarasho for training this morning. But yesterday he had asked Kiris to seek out Yarasho right before the appointed time and tell him that he had other business to attend to.

He didn't want to talk to his friend now. Even if he explained the difficulty of the situation Yar wouldn't understand. He was too easygoing and would no doubt tell him to simply end the relationship. But it wasn't that simple. Azusa sighed.

Leaving the way he noticed that the grass under his boots was wet with morning dew. Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to sit down at the river. But at the moment he had to deal with greater problems than a wet backside.

The river divided the eastern region of the royal woods. There was only one narrow bridge to help crossing the stream of water without getting wet feet. Azusa used it and turned east, because there was a slight bend in the river a little farther ahead where nobody crossing the river could spot him by accident.

He walked on until the bridge behind him was swallowed by the surrounding vegetation. Finally satisfied with the location, he sat down right next to the water, hoping that it would help to ease his mind.

His eyes followed a tiny leaf floating over the stream. It made contact with the surface of the river right next to his position, but was carried away by the force of the water the next instant. It would probably leave the forest together with the river.

Azusa wished he could do the same. In principle he was a free man and tonight he had finally acquired the means to go wherever he wanted. But he couldn't just leave the palace without Kiris, nor would he be allowed to stay with her any longer.

There were only two options and both of them would bring about bad consequences. Maybe the easiest way to solve all the problems would be to marry Kiris. But, Azusa's shoulders slumped, his parents would never agree to a marriage with a commoner, let alone a chamber maid. So the only way out would be to leave Jurai together with her. But then again, this would mean to reject his heritage. As the heir to the throne, Azusa felt obliged to the people of Jurai. He knew, to escape from that responsibility was to betray the empire.

"Damn!" he swore, picked up a twig and threw it into the water. The wood was carried away instantly, which served only to intensify Azusa's fury about his desperate situation. Out of anger he took a stone from the ground and plunged it into the river full force.

"No situation without solution," a voice suddenly spoke up behind him.

Azusa turned around in fury. "I'm going to throw you in the water like that stone, if you scare me like this again," he shouted at Yarasho who immediately retreated some steps, making a defensive gesture.

"Sorry buddy."

Azusa relaxed a little and Yarasho used the chance to step forward again.

"Hey, I didn't want to disturb you." He seated himself a few feet beside his friend. "Just ignore me and keep throwing stones if it helps you."

A dangerous fire was burning in Azusa's eyes. "Why did you come? I thought you had been informed that there would be no training today."

"Oh yes. You have important business to do." Yarasho's voice was cynical now. "Kiris told me that. And...," he watched Azusa closely at his next words. "... she told me more."

Nothing moved in the face of the young man but he didn't reply either.

"Listen." Yarasho chose his next words carefully. It was very important that Azusa heard what he had to say now and not like so often lost his composure before he had a chance to finish.

"I'm your friend, you know that. And as a friend I want to help you. It's a difficult situation you are in, no doubt about that. But no matter what the situation, there's always a way out."

He didn't know where to place the look Azusa gave him, but at least he didn't shout and that was reason enough for Yarasho to continue.

"I guess the best solution is to make Kiris leave the palace."

"Make her leave the palace..." Azusa repeated and nodded, but his voice had an undertone that made Yarasho feel very uncomfortable. "... so that's your suggestion as my friend. Then let me tell you something. I will not let Kiris down, so spare me with your suggestions."

"But Azusa, just keep your anger out of the picture for a moment and try to think about the whole thing." The words didn't come out with as much emphasis as Yarasho had intended them to. Sanara had warned him that it would turn out like this, but he hadn't been about to believe that Azusa would be so narrow-minded.

"You are the heir to the throne of the mightiest empire in galaxy. A few decades from now and you will be the emperor of Jurai. Royal blood is running through your veins. You are special and..."

"... she isn't," he was interrupted by Azusa. "That's what you wanted to say, isn't it?"

"Well..." Yarasho shrugged and decided to put all his eggs in one basket. "Of course she isn't. She's an ordinary Juraian and will be accepted as your woman by no one."

"Who gave you the right to judge like this," Azusa shouted making Yarasho flinch.

"I'm only telling you what's reality," he countered. "Once your parents take notice of your relationship with Kiris, they will banish her immediately. No word of you will change this."

Azusa stared at him for a moment than he fixed his gaze on the river again. "I'm aware of that," he said calmly.

Yarasho was stunned. If Azusa had already realized that the relationship to Kiris had to be put to an end, everything would be a lot simpler. But before he could become too pleased with the turn of events, Azusa continued.

"The only way to stay with her is to leave Jurai."

"What?" Now it was Yarasho's turn to shout. "You can't be serious. You are going to throw your life away just because of a girl? If you leave Jurai, you will loose everything. In order to maintain his reputation the emperor would be forced to exile you. Don't tell me you want to spend the rest of your life as a lumberjack on some desolate planet."

He expected a harsh answer but Azusa remained silent, obviously thinking about this option. Suddenly a good thought crossed Yarasho's mind.

"You can't leave the planet anyway." He smiled confidently. "If you call on a ship all of a sudden, someone is bound to notice what you're up to and believe me I won't help you out."

"I don't need your help." Azusa looked at him again, he wasn't shaken in the least by his friend's revelation. "Call it accident or destiny, I've bonded last night. So I only have to go through the ceremony in order to be free to go wherever I want."

Yarasho felt deceived. For an endless moment he tried to think of another argument he could use to counter, but there was none. Things had turned out the worst possible and there was nothing he could do about it anymore. Looking at his friend sadly, he spoke with a resolute voice. "I won't allow you to leave Jurai forever."

A small part of Azusa's mind felt frightened by the sudden harshness of the otherwise always cheerful Yarasho but the main part was swept away by rage.

"So what are you going to do about it," he asked challenging, knowing that there was no way Yarasho could stop him if he really wanted to leave the planet. "Are you going to knock me out?"

Yarasho remained serious and his voice was cold as ice, as he spoke. "I'm not going to do that. It won't be necessary. All I have to do is to tell the emperor."

"You!" Azusa's eyes grew wide. "You won't dare!"

A faint hint of a smile appeared in the corner of Yarasho's mouth and that was enough to let Azusa loose control. He jumped to his feet and hammered his fist right in the others face. Yarasho's head was thrown back and as he recovered a thin trickle of blood was running down from his nose. For a moment he stared at Azusa totally perplexed, then anger started to burn in his eyes.

"Is that your way to thank me," he shouted, wiping off the blood with his hand.

Azusa stood right in front of him, and although it seemed impossible, his gaze became even angrier at Yarasho's words.

"Thank you for what? For all the useful tips about dealing with women? You are the one to blame for this whole mess. So shut up!" He threw another punch at Yarasho, but this time he blocked the attack.

"Wait a moment!"

Azusa was not about to wait, but his next attack met only thin air, for Yarasho had simply teleported out of his range. He let out an angry growl and was just about to turn around, as a terribly powerful blow struck his neck. He went to the ground instantly.

"I told you to wait a moment." Yarasho said in a wicked voice. "Did I get this right? You are blaming me for your mess?"

Azusa pushed himself up. The cold moisture of the dew had chased away a lot of his anger, leaving behind a very unpleasant feeling.

"Of course I do." He turned around to face Yarasho. "You've been the one to suggest giving it a try with Kiris. Don't you remember telling me stuff like unique opportunity and gain some experience?"

For a few seconds Yarasho stared at him speechless then he started to laugh. "You're really odd, you know. I mean...," his face became more earnest. "... you took that very serious, don't you?" Yarasho shook his head in disbelief. "I was just making fun, Azusa. Never would I suggest you to start a relationship with your chamber maid. Hell, she's just an ordinary girl, one of hundreds serving in the palace."

"No she isn't. She's something special." Even in his own ears those words sounded stupid and Yarasho wiped them away with a simple gesture.

"Aw, Azusa. There's another lesson you haven't learned yet. Love will spoil the fun. Whenever you really feel attached to a girl, your judgement will be reduced. Your view will be hazed and you will be unable to see all the other beautiful women then."

"How can you say something like that?" With every word spoken Azusa regained more of his lost confidence. "I don't see where being together with another woman I do not love would be fun. Guess what, Yar...," he made a pause, "... I think you're the odd one of us. Using women just by taking advantage of your power... it annoys me."

The words were meant to hurt Yarasho, but he just bent his head a little and replied, smiling, "At least I don't father kids."

Azusa went pale. "She told you?"

"She did. But...," he looked to the dark clouded sky for a second as if searching for words before he met Azusa's eyes again. "... it wouldn't have been necessary. Sanara suspected something like that already. And guess what, she told me that everyone would be able to see it very soon."

Small circles started to spread on the river's surface. Azusa felt the cold drops on his skin but he didn't care. If it really wasn't much longer until Kiris' pregnancy would become obvious he had to act fast or everything would be lost. No. He stared at Yarasho who had made a few steps back, searching for cover under one of the mighty trees. It was too late already. And deep inside he knew that Yarasho was about to do the right thing.

"What I wouldn't give to read your thoughts now. But...," Yarasho briefly glanced up towards the dark clouds. "... the weather is getting worse. I've no intention to stay here until the rain stops, so let's head back to the palace and finish our conversation there."

Azusa, whose hair was totally wet by now, didn't move. "There's nothing to talk about anymore."

Yarasho rolled is eyes. "Come on, Azusa." His head lowered, he moved out to him into the rain but Azusa just shook his head.

"I will stay here. Leave now."

"You're so stubborn. But as you wish. I will let you stay when you answer me one more question." Azusa nodded briefly, yet a wary expression appeared on is face.

"Who did you bond to?"

Wondering why Yarasho wanted to know something like that Azusa didn't respond immediately.

"Kirito," he finally said.

Yarasho seemed to be quite surprised but he didn't ask any further. Instead he walked past Azusa. But before he could leave an iron grip closed around his arm.

"Yarasho," Azusa looked at him, his face set in stone. "If you still call yourself my friend, don't act against me."

Yarasho returned his gaze, unblinking. "As your friend I have to." He freed himself and hurried away.

Azusa didn't look after him. His eyes were fixed on the river again. A couple of leaves were drifting in the current. Again and again they were pushed under water by the now pouring rain, but they would be carried farther away, no matter what happened. He instead, was forced to stay, while everything he cared about was washed away.

* * *

Chapter notes:

You have probably noticed that there was a chronological jump of one year from the last chapter to this one. Actually I don't like interrupting the current of narration that way, but since this story isn't supposed to turn into a novel and a lot of stuff has to be told, I have to make use of time jumps.

I know I dealt scarcely with the relationship between Azusa and Kiris. Sorry about that, but I had no intention of writing a love story. It just seemed necessary to introduce a little background in order to give you an understanding of the character's point of view.

Thanks for the reviews. I've made some kind of bet with Kryo. He said I would get five reviews, I said no more than three. Well, we got four, so neither of us won the bet. (And don't you dare to review the first chapter now :-) But I would be really happy to get a review for this chapter, cause I'm curious what you think of it.

And also thanks to Kryo, who helped me again with this chapter.

Yours Tamrin


	4. Consequences of an Action

I have not created the Tenchi Muyo! characters in this story. They are property of AIC, Pioneer and Masaki Kajishima.

* * *

Chapter 3 - Consequences of an Action

The curtains of the small window were open, yet the lighting was dim in the small room. Dark clouds still covered the sky and not a single ray of sun mixed under the raindrops pouring to the ground. Kiris couldn't bear to watch the gloomy scene any longer. She lowered her head, fixing her eyes on the little flower she had kept her fingers occupied with for quite some time now. The petals had already lost some of their vitality and it only increased the melancholy look. Soon it would be withered.

Another tear rolled down her cheek.

Kiris was sitting on her bed, a bag with the things she cared for standing beside her feed.

A lot of thoughts and emotions had crossed her mind since Sanara had visited her. Although knowing that it would come that way, she had found herself lying on her bed crying after the other woman had left. Then defiance had stirred within her. She had been about to go to Azusa, tell him that she wanted to stay with him, that he mustn't make her leave. But this mood had also vanished quickly, leaving only numb resignation. There was no future for her in the royal palace. Of course Sanara had been right. She had to leave. Driven by that realization, Kiris had packed her things.

A knock on the door brought her mind back to reality. The door was opened and the slim figure of Sanara stepped inside.

"Are you prepared," she asked, not even trying to hide her nervousness.

Kiris nodded, dried her eyes in a quick movement and stood up. Slowly she turned around to face Sanara.

Seeing that Kiris had taken the advice and was wearing an inconspicuous dark coat, Sanara nodded her approval.

"We are not going to use the direct route, there are too many people and we don't want to draw too much attention."

The chamber maid nodded automatically not really listening to the words.

"Well then, come on."

"Miss Sanara," Kiris' voice was weak. "I've looked for him, but I couldn't find him anywhere."

Sanara's expression became unreadable. "I've already told you, maybe it's better not to see him again."

"But I don't want to leave without saying goodbye," Kiris whispered lowering her eyes on the flower she still held in her hand.

"I'm sure he will understand. So come on now, there's no time to loose."

Kiris obeyed. She grabbed her bag and stepped out onto the floor. As she heard the sound of the closing door behind her, the weight of her heart seemed to increase even more. How she wished for Azusa to show up now and tell her that she didn't have to leave. But that was just a dream. One that would never come true. He wanted her to leave. It was the only way. And she understood.

* * *

Yarasho didn't know why, yet he hesitated. Outwardly relaxed as usual he was leaning on a wall not too far from the audience chamber. However, thanks to the slight bend of the corridor, he remained invisible for the knight guarding the entrance.

Sanara had told him to wait a little longer, but she had no idea of exactly how dangerous the whole situation was. Obviously Azusa was blinded by love and in that state of mind Yarasho believed him capable of arranging the transfer of the mighty Kirito into the prepared ship behind the emperor's back. Without the ceremony the ship wouldn't be perfectly synchronized with the tree, but it would probably still provide enough power to leave the planet.

Yarasho sighed. He wondered how Sanara was doing. Hopefully she had taken Kiris out of the royal palace by now. When Azusa was told that she had left with the intention to spare him trouble, maybe he wouldn't look for her in the city. And maybe he would become reasonable again.

But then again, it was also possible that everything would turn out completely different. Yarasho shook his head. What he was about to do was right. The emperor had to be informed. Since Azusa wasn't capable of rational thought at the moment, he had to take on the task.

"Good afternoon, Master," he was greeted by a beautiful female who walked by carrying a pile of clothes. Nodding in response, Yarasho wondered what the girl must think, spotting him there, waiting behind a corner, as if he was scared to approach the audience chamber.

Wiping all remaining doubts away, Yarasho walked towards the huge doors. He wasn't going to turn his friend in, he was going to help maintain the stability within the first house of Jurai.

As the knight noticed the young man, he smiled in recognition. "Welcome Master Yarasho. What is your desire?"

"Oh..." Yarasho smiled in return. "I wanted to talk to the emperor. Right now, if that's possible." He was surprised at how calm his voice sounded, almost like he had only come by to say hello to the head of Jurai.

"You're lucky, Master. The next scheduled audience will be in half an hour. I will announce you then."

Yarasho agreed and the man walked over to the com terminal to the left of the entrance. He activated the device and spoke a few words in a low voice. After a short wait, the door swung open and Yarasho stepped into the audience chamber.

Without paying attention to the knights flanking the carpeted pathway he walked straight to the throne. There he bowed briefly and as he lifted his head again, the emperor met his gaze with a smile.

"It's rare for you to ask an audience, Yarasho. We are going to use this opportunity to ask you about your opinion concerning..." he exchanged a glance with his wife sitting beside him, "... a private matter. But first, tell us what led you here."

Yarasho was slightly taken aback by the emperor's friendly words. But there was no turning back now.

"Your majesty, I'm obliged to your son through deep friendship, as you may know," he took notice of the emperor and the empress nodding in approval. "Today I consult you not only as his friend but also as a member of the royal family who is concerned about your son."

The Emperor watched him with a mix of confusion and curiosity. "You are concerned about Azusa? Why is this?"

Yarasho took a deep breath and told them everything. He started from Azusa's first meeting with Kiris in the nursery, went about their secret meetings in the wood and finished with the current situation. The emperor didn't interrupt him even once, but after Yarasho had finished his story, he stood from his seat and made a step towards him.

"Did I got you right, Azusa impregnated this chamber maid?" His voice was threatening and Yarasho had to force himself not to step back. He just nodded and saw the empress rising as well.

"You heard this?" He wasn't addressing Yarasho anymore. "I told you he isn't ready to take responsibility yet."

"Obviously he isn't." The empress stepped beside her husband. "But tell me, Yarasho...," her bright eyes sparkled, "... why didn't Azusa tell us by himself?"

Yarasho recalled the answer he had prepared for such a question and voiced it.

"Neither is Azusa ashamed of what has happened nor afraid of your judgment. As you may have guessed, he didn't ask me to consult you." He lowered his head.

The emperor growled. "What to do with such a brat?"

"We will deal with him later. There's a more urgent business to attend to." The empress still stared at Yarasho, who had raised his head again, making him feel very uncomfortable. "So this chamber maid is still in the palace?"

The strange undertone of her voice made Yarasho realize that his answer was going to be very important.

"I guess so," he nodded, not really knowing why he was lying.

"Well...," the emperor moved back to his throne. "... at least some good news."

Slowly Yarasho got the feeling that he might have made a terrible mistake. He bowed deeply.

"May I leave now?"

The emperor nodded, but the empress held him back. "We still want to hear your opinion." She looked at her husband and he continued.

"It is said that you possess a lot of knowledge about...," he cleared his throat. "... the daughters of the royal houses of Jurai."

Yarasho tried to cover up his surprise by smiling impishly. "Well, people got it right, I guess."

"Then tell me, what do you think about the youngest daughter of the fourth house?"

Yarasho's confused gaze wandered from the emperor to his wife but even in her eyes he could see the same curiosity the emperor was showing.

"The youngest daughter? So you mean Achika? She's a kind and intelligent person but still a girl... she...," he interrupted himself, not really knowing what kind of information the emperor was expecting from him. "What do you want me to tell?"

Instead of the emperor the empress replied. "Azusa's future wife has to be chosen. We wondered whether it should be Sanara or the young Achika. As Azusa's friend and an expert concerning woman, you should be able to help us in that decision."

Yarasho felt his heart beating faster. Did they really expect him to decide unbiased? Although he sometimes didn't act like Sanara was his girlfriend and kept denying any thoughts of marriage, he would never give her away, not even to Azusa.

"Both are kind and trustful persons. As for Sanara, she might not have enough of an interest in actual politics to be fit for the role of the future empress. Achika on the other hand seemed to be interested in a lot of things, including everything concerning the Juraian empire. So I suppose Achika might be the better choice."

The empress fixed him with her terrible piercing gaze for a moment, then she turned around and went back to her throne.

"Thank you, Yarasho. You may leave," the emperor spoke.

Yarasho bowed one more time and hurried out of the chamber. After the door had closed behind him the empress addressed her husband in a low voice.

"What are you going to do?"

"What has to be done," he responded with a voice cold as ice. "Azusa has to learn that there are consequences to bear for everything he does."

He stood up and waved close one of the knights. The man obeyed and kneeled in front of the emperor.

"Call your men. Tell them to search for a chamber maid of the first house by the name of Kiris. Take her into custody as soon as you find her."

"Understood, your majesty." The knight turned around and left.

"You're serious then?" the empress stated a proud smile on her face.

The emperor didn't look at his wife but his voice was firm. "I condemn such cruel procedure. But a bastard mustn't be allowed to be born."

* * *

The sky was still dark but the rain had lost much of its fury. Only a few drops were splashing the river now. Though Azusa was staring at the water's surface, he didn't see them as they hit the river. He didn't even think.

Leaning on a tree that had provided him with a little shelter from the rain he was more asleep than awake. Sometimes his eyes closed and strange thoughts crossed his mind. He saw Kiris crying for his help or Yarasho waylaying her with dishonest intention. Then he opened his eyes again and the unpleasant images vanished.

Azusa wondered why he was having such disturbing dreams. Maybe he felt a threat subconsciously. A threat... . He closed his eyes. The beautiful figure of Kiris appeared. She gave him a warm smile making him feel at ease. Suddenly her smile distorted into a silent scream. A dark blue blade had pierced her lower body. Azusa's eyes popped open.

He ran his hand over his face. The best thing to do would be to head back to the warm and comforting palace right away. He had been well aware of that fact the whole time. But something made him stay. Maybe it was the vain hope in waiting things out.

A movement on the other side of the river caught his attention. Tired to death he tried to make identify the figure that moved through the forest obviously searching for something. Surprise chased a lot of the tiredness away as Azusa recognized him as a knight. It was unusual that a knight was roaming through the royal woods alone. He wondered what he could be looking for.

The thought of walking over and simply ask him never came to his mind. Instead he kept sitting and watched the knight searching the entire opposite river bank. As he was out of eyesight Azusa went back into numbness.

* * *

The mighty capital city of Jurai was unusually quiet. Only a few people were rushing through the streets trying not to spend too much time in the rain. Nobody paid attention to the young woman walking slowly along a wide street.

She had covered her head with a hood but the coat was wet through and through, so water was running down her face almost freely. Carrying a bag she might have passed as a tourist, coming from outside the town.

However, Kiris didn't feel like a guest, but like a refugee. The streets she was walking were the ones of her hometown, but she had spent most of her lifetime in the royal palace, so she didn't belong here anymore.

She held her step and turned around for the first time since she had left royal ground. The magnificent palace rose up into the sky, fascinating and frightening at the same time. She couldn't explain, but it felt as if the whole area was covered by an incredible aura of power. A shiver ran down her spine and she turned away quickly.

Huge buildings merged with the enormous trees of the forest to either side of the street as it lead towards one of the city's many market places. During her first years in royal service she had sometimes been sent out here to acquire some items which usually were as worthless as they were rare. The daughter of the third house, who she had served under at that time had developed an interest in such accessories. But after the activity of smuggler gangs and other suspicious characters had increased in the city, it had become rare for servants to be allowed to leave royal ground. She had been told that the security risk would be too high. Probably they wanted to decrease the risk of infiltration

So the last time Kiris had experienced the bustling life of the city had been two years ago. The sun had been bright at the sky all day back then. Now it was raining.

She felt the cold drops on her face merging with her warm tears. Never had she wanted to leave the palace, to leave Azusa. She gulped trying to suppress the sorrow but it didn't work. Even more tears ran down her cheeks as she recalled her desperate situation.

He hadn't told it himself, but she knew, had always known that leaving was the only choice left. But where was she supposed to head now? Her parents had sent her to the palace to give her a chance at a better life. How could she return home like this?

The marked place came into sight. The few traders who had sold their goods without paying heed to the weather were closing their stalls, making Kiris aware that evening was going to break soon. She grabbed her bag tightly and moved to one of the stands. Its keeper obviously didn't belong to the Juraian race but his face was friendly.

"Good evening," he said as Kiris stopped in front of him. "What can I offer you?"

She glanced at the various fruits lying neatly and tidily sorted by color, then she met his gaze.

"I just have a question," she whispered.

A little friendliness vanished from the man's face but he signalled her to go on with a nod.

"I need a dry place to rest. Do you know a cheap hotel nearby?"

A strange sound escaped the man's throat. "Sorry lady," he laughed. "This is the capital city of Jurai, the hugest and most wealthy empire in universe. You understand me? For most people here money doesn't matter. So everything is sold as expensive as it comes." He made it sound like he was telling the one and only truth but there was also a cynical undertone in his voice that made Kiris realize that he wasn't quite satisfied with the situation.

"Don't get me wrong, but if you're looking for a cheap accommodation, then you might want to look elsewhere. However...," he sized her up and nodded slowly. "well... there are establishments for people like you. Maybe it's just what you are looking for. Head to the west," he gestured into the direction. "And try not to pay too much attention to the ... ... well, you will see."

The young woman nodded and walked away. For a moment he watched her heading in the direction he had showed her, then he continued putting away his goods.

He had just stowed it all away in his wooden hover craft, when he noticed a few well dressed men. They were talking to passer-by and one of them just made his way towards him. The trader tensed as he realized that it was a royal knight.

"Good evening, sir," he greeted formally. The knight nodded in reply and activated a small video log he was holding in his hand. A transparent screen appeared showing the image of a woman.

"Have you seen her?"

The trader smiled and nodded hastily, glad to be of service.

* * *

It was already getting dark and Kiris was still on her way through the city. She felt uncomfortable not knowing where to spend the night. The district the shopkeeper had pointed out to her was somewhat eerie. She hadn't found anyone to ask for quite a while but more than once she had seen shadows moving behind her.

The echo of her fast step through the rather narrow street was the only sound to be heard. Many of the houses build into the trees lining the street seemed to be lighted, so Kiris decided to give it a try and knock on a door.

She left the street and climbed a little root to a house which inspired enough confidence. She knocked but instead of someone opening the door, a shout came to her ear.

"Stop right there!"

Kiris turned around in shock. From the other end of the street, barely visible against the darkness, two knights came running towards her. First she wondered why the knights could be after her, then one of them shouted again. A wave of panic washed all of her rational thoughts away. She felt the strong urge to flee and gave into it.

Grapping her bag firmly, she jumped down and started running along trees, searching for a narrow lane to hide herself. Soon she found one which led her to a street running parallel to the first. She crossed it and was about to merge with the shadows of another alley, when someone shouted not too far behind her.

A glance over her shoulder showed her, that it was another knight, less than a hundred meters behind her. She was not going to escape him. Filled with desperation Kiris dropped her bag and increased speed.

She reached the narrow alley and was horrified to find that it was a dead end. Breathing heavily she stopped.

"Look, who we have here," a coarse male voice sounded out of the darkness.

"A little beauty," another one added.

"Probably she's here to have some ... fun."

Kiris turned. It sounded like they were all around her, yet she could see no one. Her panic threatened to overwhelm her.

"Don't be frightened little girl." A man probably only some years older than her stepped out of the darkness, a dirty smile on his face. He was wearing shabby clothes but his blond hair was neatly tied to a plait.

"We are... sociable men," he said and gazed at her in a way she didn't like at all.

Fast footsteps wiped the smile disappear from the man's face. He made a gesture to fall back and merged with the darkness again.

Kiris heaved a sigh of relief. The thought of being caught by the knights had suddenly lost most of its terror. The one who had been close behind stopped a couple of steps in front of her. He watched his surroundings in suspicion for a moment before he addressed her.

"I'm not going to harm you." His voice was warm making it difficult not to believe in what he said. "Would you please lower your hood?"

Kiris did as she was told. As soon as her head wasn't covered anymore a suggestive whistle sounded from out of the darkness. The expression of the knight hardened instantly. She didn't actually see him move, but from one second to the next the knight's posture had changed completely. He was tensed now, the stun lance in his hand ready to deal with any attack.

After a few moments of unbearable silence he relaxed a little and turned his gaze to the young woman in front of him again.

"You are a chamber maid of the first house, right," he stated. "We've been searching for you for quite a while. Please follow me now." Instead of the expected strictness there was only a compassionate undertone in his warm voice.

Kiris nodded slowly. But as she was about to do as he said another voice behind her spoke up.

"This beauty will follow you nowhere." The blond man who had shown himself earlier walked towards the knight and remained standing in a safe distance to him but only a few feet beside her. Feeling the danger emanating from him she wanted to step aside, but he simply grabbed her arm, causing her to scream in fear and surprise.

"Quiet! Other than this royal scum there isn't anybody who could hear you anyway." He grabbed her arm even tighter and her scream turned into a low whimper.

The knight who had watched the whole scene in silence reacted to the abuse.

"Who do you think you are?" His voice had lost all the warmth it held before. "I'm a knight in service of the royal family. The emperor himself gave order to arrest this woman. So if you are going to oppose me, I will interpret it as violation of Juraian law. You know the consequences."

The knight did expect the man to retreat now but he remained standing, gazing at him in a way which was hard to interpret.

"Don't waste my time any more. Let her go, now!" The knight had shouted the last words but the young man only made a few steps back, pulling Kiris with him. She begged him to let her go, but he just ignored her. He was still facing the knight who had come closer his lance ready to attack.

"I see." The knight nodded slowly and tensed. "A little fun with a girl is really more valuable to scum like you than your life." He made another step reducing the distance between them.

"You got me wrong," the blond said calmly and Kiris felt that something in his posture changed. "Raping the girl could be fun, indeed. But it wouldn't serve my purpose."

He let go of her arm but before she was able to run away he pushed her back with brute force. Unable to regain her balance Kiris staggered and hit the ground. A stabbing pain went through her stomach. Someone dragged her to the dark entrance of a building and suddenly dirty hands were all over her.

"Nobody touches her!"

The men obeyed and with great difficulty Kiris turned to see how the knight was going to end this. His combat skills exceeded those of his opponents by far, so what was he waiting for?

The fact that there were more men than the one in front of him he had to deal with didn't make the knight feel uneasy. But he became more cautious. It didn't escape his attention that the blond was moving something in his hand as he continued his interrupted speech.

"To bring one of the royal snobs down would be much more interesting."

He lifted his right arm and a black glowing blade appeared in front of him. Feeling the high amount of energy emitted by the light sword, the knight was surprised for a moment. But street scum remained scum regardless of their weaponry, so arresting this loudmouthed boy would be easy. Especially since he could already hear the footsteps of the other knights he was waiting for.

Kiris was unable to follow the scene any longer. The pain had become so bad that she had curled, wrapping her arms around her lower body. Her breath was coming in fits and the dark spots dancing in front of her eyes increased in size as another wave of pain washed through her body. She heard someone say something and a battle scream, then her surrounding went completely dark and her consciousness was wiped out by an incredible pain.

* * *

The moon was already visible through the dark clouds moving over the sky as Azusa finally decided to head back to the palace. After the rain had stopped, the wind had started to dry his clothes, but the temperature was decreasing and Azusa felt cold.

He stood up, stretched his tired limbs and moved a hand through his hair trying to cancel the wind's work. The illuminated bridge was clearly visible from his position, making him feel somewhat lonely. He started moving over the softened soil.

It had taken him quite a while but he had finally come to realize that he had to talk to Kiris. When he was going to explain his situation maybe she would understand.

He stopped in the middle of the bridge leaned onto the railing and starred at the reflection of light in the river. Yarasho had been right. Trying to escape with her wasn't such a good idea. His heart cringed at the mere thought of never seeing her smile again, but he knew that there was only one opportunity left. Azusa continued his way, trying to think of appropriate words to make Kiris understand.

The evening was quiet and other than his own steps and the whistle of the trees no sound disturbed his thoughts. But the closer he came to the main alley surrounding the palace the more the peace of the night was disturbed by noise. Shadows moved along the way, what was very strange. As Azusa stepped out of the wood he noticed that they were guards and royal knights. They were moving on a path leading to the main entrance, making Azusa wonder what business they could have in town.

He reached the main alleyway and was greeted by a group of four knights walking by. He let them pass but decided to ask the next what was going on. It happened to be a single guard.

"Wait," Azusa said as the man bowed to him. "What's all this about?"

"They are searching for a suspect, sir. A female I guess." The guard bowed again. "That's all I know. The master knight is probably better informed."

"Where do I find him?"

The guard pointed in the direction he was coming from. "Over there. I saw him speaking to someone. May I excuse myself now?" He bowed again and hurried away.

Azusa walked along the pathway keeping his eyes open for the leader of the knights. Soon he spotted him standing in the distance talking with a man who neither wore the armor of a knight nor a guard's uniform. He had turned his back to Azusa so he was unable to recognize him in the faint light.

Azusa slowed down as the knight took notice of his presence. He hadn't reached them yet, but the knight bowed already making Azusa assume that he wanted the other man to become attentive of him.

The other got the hint and turned his head. Azusa stopped. Watching Yarasho's expression turning from surprise to regret a terrible presentiment came to his mind. Unable to move any further Azusa just kept standing, gazing at his friend in silent reproach.

Yarasho had the knight leave with short words and stepped up to him.

"Hey, Azusa. Finally acknowledged that the palace's interior is a much better place to stay for the night than the woods?" His voice lacked the usual challenging undertone making it obvious that he was covering up something.

"What have you done?" Azusa asked straight ahead, his voice trembling.

Yarasho was unable to stand his gaze any longer. "Let's go inside. There are too many people out here." Without waiting for Azusa to reply he started walking towards the nearest entrance to the palace.

As soon as the huge door had closed behind them Azusa grabbed Yarasho's arm, forcing his friend to look at him.

"We are alone, so talk now!" he shouted.

"Let me go and I will tell you." Yarasho said calmly, still avoiding his gaze.

"No. Tell me right now."

Yarasho starred at him and the terrible sorrow in his usually cheerful brown eyes made Azusa forget his fury. He let him go.

"I'm sorry, Azusa, really." Yarasho leaned on one of the mighty wooden columns flanking the entrance for support. "I've told your father."

Somehow Azusa had suspected something like that, so he wasn't really surprised, not even angry. All emotions were gone. It was like he was no more than an indifferent observer to the scene.

"You did what you thought to be the right thing."

"Maybe it wasn't." Yarasho gave him a sad smile. "Kiris is gone."

Azusa lowered his head and nodded slowly. "So she left the palace on her own."

"Kind of. Sanara convinced her. We thought it would be better to make her leave before you could do anything... foolish."

"I guess I have to thank you than." Azusa's voice was low and Yarasho wasn't sure if he had fully realized what it all meant. "When did she leave?"

Yarasho thought for a moment. "Shortly after noon. But...," he had wanted to say more but interrupted himself as Azusa suddenly looked at him, his face a mask of terror.

"The suspect the knights are searching for... is it..."

Yarasho nodded. "It is Kiris. The emperor ordered to arrest her. I'm really sorry, that wasn't how I wanted it to end."

"They haven't found her yet, have they?"

"They haven't. But some of them are still out there looking for her. The search will be continued tomorrow. Sorry to say that, but I doubt she can hide for long. It's only a matter of time now."

Azusa shook his head briefly. "Do you think a lifetime in prison is what she deserves?" His voice was bitter and he didn't expect an answer. So Yarasho kept starring at ground waiting for Azusa to continue. But instead of harsh words there was only the sound of leaving footsteps.

Yarasho lifted his head and saw his friend walk away. It wouldn't do any good to call him back. Everything that had to be said was said. Now it was Azusa's turn to cope with it. It would take time but Yarasho was sure he would get over it.

* * *

Azusa wandered through the corridors, a faint smile on his face. He was recalling all the pleasant hours he had spent with Kiris. There were only short images, a few words, fading emotions he could remember and yet it was enough to support him for the moment.

Never would he forget her scared face as he had jumped in his room over a year ago, or her persistent behavior in the nursery the next day. He had never told her but he had to admit that he had felt attracted to her since that conversation. So Yarasho's words in the training room had only encouraged him to do what his heart wanted to anyway.

Nevertheless it had been wrong. The time he had spent with her was probably the best in his life, he remembered their long talks on the meadow, the pleasant hours in intimacy. But it did not justify what had happened to her.

Azusa clenched his fists. Thinking of how his father cold-heartedly ordered to arrest Kiris a strong emotion flowed up inside him. He felt deceived. It must have been his mother herself who had arranged for Kiris to become his chamber maid. She must have known that he would feel attracted to a young and beautiful girl like her. Maybe she had wanted it that way. Maybe this was only another lesson the heir to the throne of Jurai had to learn. To lose things that he cared for.

Rage started to consume his mind and this time he didn't fight it. Fury was a lot easier to bear than sorrow. So Azusa walked through the corridors cursing his parents, Yarasho, the knights and finally himself. His anger even lashed out at Kiris. If she just hadn't become pregnant... Realizing his trail of thought Azusa quickly felt ashamed and a lot of his fury vanished.

A knight walked past him with a greeting. Azusa ignored him. While his thoughts were drifting he had almost reached his chamber. He felt hungry, tired and depressed but he was not about to rest in his room. After changing clothes he would pay his parents a visit.

The door opened and Azusa stepped in. He was surprised to find that his room was tidied up properly. The clothes he had thrown to ground last evening had vanished. The wardrobe he liked to leave open was closed.

Azusa walked slowly towards the window. She had been here before she had left. If he just hadn't sat in the wood, sulking all day, maybe he would have seen her one last time. He could have told her how sorry he was about all that happened.

He reached the bed and stopped. On the light blanket was lying a withering dark purple flower. It had lost some of its petals already. Azusa extended his hand and carefully took the frail flower.

Wherever Kiris was hiding at the moment, he hoped that she wouldn't be discovered. He wished that she was would be able to become as happy as during their first days again.

A single petal came lose and glided to ground slowly.

* * *

Chapter notes:

You think this a bad ending? It was planned for things to turn out like this from the beginning and of course it was the only possible way for them to turn out anyway. Nevertheless I found it rather difficult to let Azusa stay so uninvolved.

The first part of the story ends here and up from the next chapter the setting will be a more than slightly different one.

Special thanks to the ones who have reviewed the last chapter. I don't rely on reviews as much as my brother, since I write more out of fun than to get appreciation, but of course it's interesting to read what other people think of my work and what they criticize.

Negative-Z:

You pointed out that, like in many other stories, the beautiful scenery of Jurai was described too vaguely. Well, personally I use to skip long descriptions in stories when I come upon one. That's why I don't want to write descriptions of places or characters in too much detail. I'm trying to describe just enough to give an impression of the atmosphere. I hope you can go along with that.

Great thanks to Kryo again.

Yours Tamrin


	5. Games of a Boy

I have not created the Tenchi Muyo! characters in this story. They are property of AIC, Pioneer and Masaki Kajishima.

* * *

Chapter 4 - Games of a Boy

In the center of the tunnel, where water was supposed to be flowing, only some puddles of stinking grey liquid remained. The decaying channel had once been part of the Juraian sewer system. But the days when millions of cubic meter polluted water were streaming through the widely branched passages had long passed. The second Juraian emperor had ordered the construction of a new modern water recycling system above the old one and so only the stench reminded of the its original purpose now.

With the water gone primitive plants and modest animals had started to occupy the dark realm. Most of the animals down here were harmless but a few could be really annoying.

Now and then a squeaking sound echoed through the tunnels. Obviously the rats were enjoying this dark and filthy place. However, they weren't the only mammals living deep beneath the earth.

"Are you... dead?" The little boy nudged the small motionless body with a short stick. But the animal didn't react not even when he tried once more.

"You are dead," he finally stated, dropped the stick, grabbed the rat by its tail and walked away.

It was the fifth dead rat he had found and there was plenty of time to find more today. He remembered a day when he had collected ten, but that had been shortly after he had started this game. There were times when he would find only one or two, so he actually felt quite proud of today's success.

He reached his home and entered the hole without hesitation.

Once the medium sized room had housed some of the machines controlling the sewer system. Now it was furnished like a place to live. Illuminated by the artificial light of two lamps fixed on the cold walls were several crates, a little shabby table and a bed. There was even something that vaguely resembled a cooking station of sorts, complete with dishes.

And the cave wasn't abandoned. Near one of the artificial light sources on a little crave sat a black haired woman, darning something. As she noticed the boy she smiled, then she recognized the animal he was carrying.

"Throw it away this instant!" her voice was low but resolute.

"But mom... it's the fifth I've found today. I just wanted to show you," the boy replied sulkily.

"Kagato," the woman stood up, walked towards him and crouched in front of her son. "How many times have I told you not to search for these dead rats?"

The boy starred into her eyes but remained silent.

"See. It's not that I want to spoil your game. I know there's not much for you to play with down here... but..." Her voice had become very sad and Kagato didn't like his mother speaking that way. So he interrupted her.

"I know. Rats are carrying diseases. And when I touch a dead rat I may become ill."

His mother gave him a sad smile. "You remember. So why do you touch them anyway?"

"I'm just holding it on its tail." Kagato's glance moved to the animal was holding. "Only my stick made contact with its body. And the tail is clean. See." He extended the rat towards his mother. "It is not even hairy."

"The boy is right," a friendly male voice said.

Kagato turned around and smiled at the tall blond man. "Hello Kashuan."

Kiris rose up. "You're early today." Other than her son she didn't seem to be pleased by the man's appearance.

"Well." Kashuan shrugged. "Today's work is done."

Kiris nodded briefly and walked back inside. Kashuan pointed to the rat Kagato was still holding. "Better throw it away," he said and followed Kiris.

Kagato thought for a moment, than he hurried to the place he had chosen to get rid of the dead rats.

As he returned Kashuan and his mother were already involved in conversation. Kagato sat down beside his mother and listened to the news from the surface. But other than expected Kashuan wasn't telling about rumors or events in the city. Instead he was emphasizing some guy's adventures in space. Most things Kagato did not understand but he remained silent knowing that later there would be plenty of time for asking questions.

"So he's finally back," his mother said when Kashuan had finished the strange story.

Kashuan just nodded.

Kagato's gaze wandered from him to his mother who was starring into the distance looking miserable.

"Who's back?" he asked into the silence as it became obvious that none of both was going to tell him.

His mother ignored his words, but Kashuan looked at him. The blond man's voice was indifferent when he answered. "The heir to the throne of Jurai, your father."

Kagato's eyes darkened and an angry expression appeared on his face. "I have no father," he said aggression vibrating in his voice.

His mother cast an admonishing glance at him but said nothing.

"It's ok, boy. I wouldn't call a man who's been hunting my mother for years father either." Kashuan stated and turned to Kiris again. "I talked to a man close to a knight who said that they still have orders to arrest a woman matching your image."

"But..." Kiris raised her head and her sad brown eyes met the cold blue of Kashuan's. "... it's been more than 4 years. Why don't they just leave us alone?"

"Hell knows. But probably they will give up soon. Meanwhile," he rose and stretched. "I'm taking the boy for a walk." Kagato noticed the strange glance he and his mother exchanged. "Come on, boy."

Kagato stood up as well and said goodbye to his mother before he followed Kashuan out of their cave.

* * *

"Are we going to the surface now?" Kagato asked as soon as they were out of earshot.

"No," Kashuan responded looking straight ahead. "It's too dangerous for a little boy."

"But I am not a little boy anymore," Kagato contradicted but the other man didn't seem to listen. Instead he was starring into the area lit up by the lamp he was carrying in his right.

"What is so dangerous up there?"

There was no response, so Kagato started pulling at Kashuan's shirt. "Listen to me! What is so dangerous?"

Finally Kashuan paid attention to him. He stopped and turned to the boy.

"That's difficult to explain and you won't understand it anyway. But I promise that I will take you to the surface once the time comes."

Kagato sighed. "You always tell me that. But if this time doesn't come soon, I will find the way out by my own."

A dry laugh emerged from Kashuan's throat. "I doubt this," he said and went on.

Kagato hurried after him. "What's there to laugh about?" he asked angrily. "You've found a way in, so I will find a way out."

"I don't think you have the slightest idea how huge the old sewer system is. Even when I take you on a walk we don't see more than a single leaf, if you imagine the system as a huge tree."

"I've never seen a tree in my life," Kagato responded sourly.

"But you will, so stop sulking, boy. When you're more mature I will take you to the surface and show you the mighty trees of Jurai."

"Your promise as a pirate?" Kagato asked hopefully.

Kashuan smiled at his words, then he looked straight into the sharp eyes of the boy.

"My promise as a pirate."

Kagato nodded in approval. "And you will show me your space ship. And take me on a robbery tour, will you? I want to see how your ship battles the enemy fleets!"

Imagining all the adventures he was going to experience together with his older friend, Kagato became really excited. But his excitement was calmed instantly as he felt a hand patting his head.

"You will see whatever you want, boy."

"Stop treating me like a stupid kid!"

The seriousness in Kagato's voice made Kashuan withdraw his hand immediately. He did not like to admit, but the older the boy grew the more... respect he felt for him. There were an awful lot of rumors concerning the power of Juraian royals. The boy's blood wasn't pure yet he was the son of the Emperor himself and therefore he had to possess some hidden power. Kashuan knew that Kagato was too young to know how to use it, but he guessed that it would be hard to control.

Loud voices resounding through the tunnel caught his attention.

Kagato's face darkened but he said nothing. So they went on in silence, listening to the voices which grew in volume with every passing second. Soon Kagato was sure that at least two of the five men must have been drunk, because their bubbling was barely understandable. The others were making dirty jokes about some women. Kagato felt a cold shiver running down his spine as he heard their thunder-like laughing.

Kashuan suddenly increased his pace and Kagato had to run as to not fall behind. They reached a crossroads and he saw light dancing in the distance of the tunnel to the right. The men grew silent as soon as they became aware of Kashuan's presence.

"What's all the noise about?" Kashuan shouted angrily.

"Alveo was talking about his nightly adventures yesterday," the man in the lead shouted back.

"Pretty much to laugh at," another added still giggling and a third murmured something which was not understandable.

"So you've experienced an adventure, Alveo?" Kashuan stopped as the group of shabby clothed men had come close and glanced at a bearded dark haired man older than himself.

While Alveo was nodding eagerly, a deceitful smile appeared on Kashuan's face.

"Then I suggest you should tell us, too. I'm sure the boy...," he looked down at Kagato's grim face. "... can't wait to hear what pirates do at night."

Alveo obviously was puzzled. He opened his mouth only to close it a second later. Instead of him the man beside him spoke up.

"Good idea, isn't it, Alveo?" He tapped him on the shoulder and laughed.

"Shut up!" Alveo shouted back, giving the other a coarse push.

Kagato was pretty sure that the man he got to know as Morse wouldn't leave it at that. But before he was able to go for Alveo, Kashuan spoke again.

"Now that this is settled, I hope you haven't come with empty hands."

"Of course not, Boss," the man in the lead who was called Salza answered immediately and pointed to the huge cans they were carrying. "Bread, meat, vegetables, eggs and the usual supply of water."

"I'ven stole sm fruits fher athe mar... mar... market," one of the drunken ones mumbled.

"Fine. Then there's no need to waste any more time. Half an hour."

The men grinned at Kashuan's words.

"Eye, boss, we will hurry," Salza went past the blond man and turned to Kagato. "We don't want to keep Kiris waiting, do we?"

Hearing his derisive voice Kagato had a hard time looking indifferent. But he remained silent and waited until the five pirates had passed by.

"Come on." Kashuan told him and Kagato followed him. For some minutes they walked on in silence, so there was only the monotonous sound of their shoes hitting the wet ground. Then Kagato broke the silence.

"Why are you working together with them?"

Kashuan smiled at the boy's naive question. "Because I have... things to do, I can't do on my own. Maybe you won't understand that now, but a man needs comrades, people he can trust. A group is more powerful than a single person."

"Bah! When I'm grown up, I'll work on my own." Kagato's voice was resolute and Kashuan didn't doubt that he meant it.

"You don't like them, do you?" But before the boy could agree, he continued. "I can't blame you for it, but always remember one thing. I'm no different than them."

* * *

Half an hour later they returned to the dark cave, which was Kagato's home. They hadn't even gotten close to the entrance, as they were greeted by the laughter of the five pirates.

"Seems like they've started the party without us," Kashuan said, slightly increasing his pace. As Kagato didn't follow in kind he turned around. "Come on, Alveo is gonna tell a great story."

But Kagato walked even slower.

"I'm not interested in his stories. They are all made up anyway."

"Don't let him hear that." Kashuan smiled and waited until the boy had reached him, then they walked slowly towards the dot of light that was the cave.

Kagato enjoyed walking together with the blond pirate out of many reasons, but mainly because it allowed him to discover new areas of the sewer system. Of course he had tried to go on an adventure tour on his own, but he had to realize that it was absolutely impossible to go more than some hundred meters. The darkness had become so substantial there that he had been forced to give up. Unfortunately Kashuan paid much attention that every time he and his gang left they took all the lamps they had brought back to the surface. So his only chance to explore new tunnels was to go with Kashuan.

At least once a week he and his companions brought new supplies. And while the others talked with his mother Kashuan would take him for a walk. The pirate would tell him about their dangerous missions and patiently answer all of his questions. Kagato didn't know too many people but he thought of Kashuan as a wise man and deep inside he had decided to become a pirate as great as him once he had grown up. As for now he could only look forward to their next walk.

"The boss is back!" someone shouted from inside the cave.

"And he is going to keep you company," Kashuan responded and joined his lighthearted men.

Kagato remained standing near the entrance, watching the blond man taking seat on a crate. Normally the crates were piled up neatly on the right side of the cave. Now they were scattered all over the ground. In the right corner five of them had been placed to form a circle and on each of them a pirate sat.

As he approached the circle Kagato's gaze wandered around searching for his mother. And after a few seconds he saw her. She was lying on the construction made off wood and an old mattress they used to sleep, her back turned to him. Kagato walked over to her.

"Are you alright?" he asked, carefully touching her shoulder.

She jerked at his touch and turned around slowly. Even in the dim light he could see that she must have been crying.

"Oh, you're back." Her voice was low. "Don't worry about me. I'm fine, just a little bit tired."

"Hey boy," he heard Kashuan shout. "Let your mother rest and join us."

But Kagato didn't move and kept watching his mother's weary face.

"He's right. After a few hours of sleep I will be with you again. Now go over to them." Kagato allowed himself to be convinced by her smile and nodded.

"Come on, there's a seat left for you." Kashuan pointed to a crate standing next to the one he was sitting on.

After Kagato had placed himself there, Kashuan silenced the others with a gesture and spoke up again.

"Alveo promised to tell us about his nightly adventures, but maybe it's a better idea to let me recount a nice story, nobody of you knows yet."

The pirates exchanged surprised looks but remained silent, not knowing what to make of this new development.

"Well, you got me curious now," Morse finally said and a smile appeared on Kashuan's face.

"I thought so."

It was unusual for Kashuan to hold back a story. Normally he would only retell things the members of his gang already knew. So Kagato was very curious about this one as well.

"On a little planet deep in space once lived a single man," Kashuan started, making it obvious that he was telling a story and no more.

"He had chosen the loneliness, because he trusted nobody, not even his own family. And he had good reason to distrust everyone."

He made a short pause and Kagato already wondered why a man would consciously choose such a life in isolation.

"The man possessed a very valuable item. It was so valuable that he had built a fortress with an alarm system and various deadly traps to protect it. His urge to be near the treasure day and night was so great, he even slept next to it."

"Strange guy," Alveo murmured and the other nodded in agreement.

"You might say so, but he was so obsessed he was ready to give his life to protect it," Kashuan explained and continued, making it obvious that the most interesting part was yet to come.

"Nobody ever tried to steal his treasure simply because nobody knew of it. At least that was what the man was thinking. But he was wrong. One night he was woken up by a noise. He activated the lights and was startled half to death. A young woman with spiky cyan hair and yellow eyes was standing in front of him. Immediately he drew the blaster he always kept by his side. He fired at her, but the shots went directly through her body and she vanished. For a second the man thought that it had all been just a nightmare, until the women reappeared directly in front of his treasure. Terrified, he shouted 'Stop!' and 'Who are you?' and she grinned at him and said," Kashuan disguised his voice so that it sounded really dangerous, 'I'm the space pirate Ryoko and you should rest now.' She formed a red glowing ball in her hand and burned the man to ashes. Then she took the treasure and vanished once and forever."

Out of habit the two drunken ones started laughing but in the faces of the others Kagato could see that they were thinking about what Kashuan had just told.

A few seconds later a grin appeared on Salza's face.

"A nice story so far, but nothing more. Cause when the man was really living on his own and was killed by that female pirate, how the hell would anyone know what happened that night?" he questioned.

It was hard to tell whether Kashuan's expression was one of feigned or genuine insult. "Do you really think I'm making up stories to entertain you?" He looked into the round and then at Kagato who hurried to shake his head.

"No. It really happened. I told you the man was using a security system and of course there were several observation cameras. Some of those were found, still intact, and they had recorded the whole robbery in detail."

The men nodded.

"And she was called Ryoko? Ryoko... Ryoko...," Alveo seemed lost in thought. "Thought I heard that name before."

Morse shrugged it off. "Maybe we'll hear about her again."

"I'm sure about that." Kashuan rose. "I guess it's time to leave."

The others agreed and clumsily went at gathering their equipment. While one after the other walked out of the cave Kashuan went over to Kiris and exchanged a few words with her which Kagato couldn't understand. He only saw his mother nodding and guessed that Kashuan was asking about her condition.

"C'mon, boss," a drunken voice called from outside.

"I'm on my way." Kashuan turned to face Kagato. "Take care of your mother, boy. We meet next week."

"Bye," Kagato said and watched the blond pirate disappear into the darkness.

As the voices had died away he moved the crates into their corner again and searched the supplies the pirates had brought for something tasty to eat. He tried a red fruit he had never seen before and found it really good. After consuming another one he cleaned his hands in a bowl of water. Only then he turned around and realized that his mother had been watching him the whole time.

"You're a good boy." She smiled. "I guess your father would have been very proud of you."

Kagato bit his lip but said nothing. He hated the man everyone called his father for everything he had done to his mother. That she had to hide deep under the surface for years was only his fault. So he couldn't understand why his mother was still talking about him.

But as he saw fresh tears forming in her eyes he forced himself to smile.

"I'm tired now," he lied and his mother nodded.

With swift movements Kagato got rid of his shoes and slid under the blanket. For a moment he enjoyed the warmth of his mother's embrace, then he remembered the rats.

He wouldn't be able to break his record if he was going to sleep now. But Kashuan had told him to comfort his mother and Kagato knew that this task was of a much greater importance now. Besides, lying in a warm bed was much better than walking in the humid cold outside. The dead rats wouldn't go anywhere anyway.

* * *

On that day Kagato had heard of the dreaded space pirate Ryoko for the first time. He should find out later, that reality had been slightly different than Kashuan's story. The little planet had been the greatest planet of the Karana system, inhabited by over ten billion people. The fortress had been the palace of the crown prince and the treasure itself turned out to have been some kind of gem. Only a single guard had been injured during the robbery. But at that time Kagato believed in Kashuan's story and his description of the space pirate Ryoko.

Two years later Kagato had nearly forgotten about her. He also didn't care about searching for dead rats anymore. A present given by Kashuan for his birthday a few months ago had taken all the old games from his mind. Kagato remembered that special day quite well.

It started like a normal day, except for his mother hugging and kissing him. Throughout breakfasting she told him like every birthday the story of his birth, how anxious she was and how Kashuan and his men had helped her. Kagato listened and wondered for the first time why the pirates had helped his mother that time. But he did not voice the question.

After finishing breakfast he went outside and started the 'walk in the dark' game. The objective was to make as many steps away from the cave as possible. For the first fifty that was not a difficult task, but from there the light faded quickly. Probing the wet wall Kagato went on. He had only made a few more steps when a light suddenly appeared in the distance.

Kagato recognized his chance immediately. Without further hesitation he cut through the darkness, headed directly for the light and Kashuan. Setting a new record that way was easy.

"Still searching for an exit?" the pirate greeted him.

But Kagato ignored his words and answered with a question of his own.

"I thought you wouldn't come for another two days. Why are you here?"

"Why am I here?" Kashuan echoed. "It's your birthday, boy."

Kagato was about to tell him that he hadn't shown up on his last one either, but Kashuan continued in a low voice.

"It's not a usual birthday. I think you're ready to become a man now."

Kagato frowned. "Does that mean you will take me to the surface?"

"Well," the blond pirate smiled. "I will take you with me when you are able to use this."

He held out a wooden stick, half a meter of length.

"That's just a stick," Kagato stated slightly upset about Kashuan making fun of him.

But the pirate shook his head. "It's more than that. It's a stun lance, or... part of it." He smiled apologetically. "I had to reduce its length so that you would be able to use it. Give it a try."

Kagato took the lance. The wood was much lighter than he had expected. He slid his fingers over the smooth surface in awe.

"It once belonged to a noble knight in royal service."

Kagato looked up, his expression serious. "You've killed him?"

He felt the need to ask although he knew the answer quite well, what surprised him was the way Kashuan answered. There was true regret in his voice.

"I had to," Kashuan said. "Otherwise he would have killed your mother. But that doesn't matter now. What I meant was that it is an excellent weapon..." He made a short pause. "... and I'm sure you'll be more than worthy to use it."

"Thank you." Kagato bowed slightly, then he suddenly stabbed at Kashuan. But the pirate evaded the tip of the lance with apparent ease and grabbed it in the same motion. Before Kagato was able to realize what had happened his new weapon was pointing at him.

"It's not that easy, boy," Kashuan said and lowered the lance.

"Well, thanks for showing me." With a grim expression Kagato took his weapon. "So what's the deal? You want me to defeat you?"

Kashuan laughed like he had just been told an especially good joke. "Of course not. You won't be able to accomplish that within the next ten years." He turned serious again. "I just want you to practice a little every day and whenever I'm here I will show you some moves."

"That's all? But when will you take me to the surface then?" The bad presentiment that all of this was just another trick to put him off for some years came to him.

But Kashuan smiled like he had read his thoughts. "I will decide when you're ready to deal with the danger outside. But I promise that you will celebrate your next birthday under the bright blue sky of Jurai."

Kagato smiled at the thought of Kashuan's promise and looked down at the lance he was holding. After a few months of practice the surface had started to showing several gashes but nevertheless it was still a wonderful weapon.

He took position like Kashuan had shown him, took the lance firmly in his right hand and tensed his muscles. Becoming one with the weapon was very important, so he stood there, eyes closed, and concentrated.

Suddenly his eyes popped open and with a battle scream he jumped forward. The lance fluently cut through the air in a huge circle. When his feet met the ground again, he slashed at the empty space in front of him, dodged and turned around and the same time. A forceful stab to his right finished the last imaginary enemy off.

Kagato was satisfied. There wasn't that much more he could learn about handling the stun lance. A faint smile appeared on his face. Kashuan had to take him to the surface soon.

* * *

A faint light from the ceiling partially cast away the everlasting darkness. Surprised by the sudden brightness the rats ran for their lives, squeaking their terror. The shape of a slim figure appeared in the hole through which the light was descending. He activated a lamp fastened to the right side of his body and kept climbing down more of the metal rugs attached to the wet stones of the wall. While doing so he pulled the cover back into place over the hatch above him, so his own lamp was quickly turned into the only source of light.

Carefully he climbed further down and after a moment a splash told him that his feet had met the ground. Neither was there any unusual sound to be heard nor did his blue eyes see any movement except the shadows cast by his own lamp.

Kashuan felt a little relieved. He did not like the darkness of this old sewer system and wouldn't it be for the boy, he would have thought twice to come down here again.

He took a deep breath of the stale air and moved on, taking the light from its place at his belt. It wasn't necessary to use both hands anymore, so he could take the light into the right to light the area in front of his feet. His left moved to the hilt of his light sword and a dark smile appeared on his face.

Today would be the ultimate test for Kagato. Kashuan had been really surprised at the progress the boy had made. He was able to handle the lance as well as it was possible for a child of his age.

Nevertheless Kashuan wasn't satisfied with him. From some investigations he had undertaken, he knew that as a descendant of a Juraian royal, the boy definitely possessed some hidden power. A few members of the royal families had been married to princesses of other influential kingdoms and their descendants had always been able to bond to a mighty tree ship. So they had to possess some kind of power. The same applied to the son of Kiris. The difficult task now was to get him to release it. But he was confident that he would be able to do it this time. Life or death, there was not much room left for choice.

* * *

Kiris stood at the entrance of their cave and watched her son thoughtfully. He was moving fast, striking in front of him and back, jumped and whirled his weapon through the air. Kiris was impressed by his fluent motions but at the same time scared.

What he was doing outside everyday now weren't child's games anymore. Although his lance only cut through thin air, it seemed like he was battling real enemies. Kiris had talked herself into believing that he was only fighting to defend himself, but as she watched him, more than once she couldn't help to think of slaughter. His facial expression was so serious and determined, Kiris started to get doubts about him turning out to be the decent guy his father would have wished him to be.

She felt exhausted and moved back inside. With a sigh she sat on the bed and watched the dancing shadows created by the artificial light.

During the last weeks she had often thought of Azusa, had recalled the wonderful time they had spent together. Kagato had asked her once why she was not angry with him for what he had done to her. Without further thinking she had answered that his heart was always beating for her and he had been forced to act like he did. She herself had made the mistake to believe he had a choice.

Unfortunately the boy had been unable to understand that. She couldn't reproach him for disliking his father, especially since Kashuan who seemed to disagree to the whole Juraian royalty was a strong influence to him.

No matter what he and his so called pirates had done to her, she was still thankful. Wouldn't it have been for them the knights would have arrested her.

Back then she hadn't realized the threat that the unborn living being inside her represented for the first house of Jurai. According to the law he would be the heir to the throne once Azusa abdicated.

"But never would the royalty allow such an unworthy bastard of mixed blood to claim his right," Kashuan had explained to her. And Kiris knew now that he had been right. They would have taken her baby and maybe even her life.

For the first year she had been living down here she had sometimes thought she would have been better off that way. She had missed the smell of flowers, the twittering of birds and the warmth of the sun. But soon she had realized that there was something for her to live for. The baby needed her and it had a right to live. So she had pulled herself together and had tried to be a good mother.

But by watching Kagato now Kiris saw her influence fading. Kashuan certainly wasn't the person she had first thought him to be, but nevertheless he was a criminal. Yet his strength and power as a leader had made him a perfect idol for Kagato. And different from his friends who just wanted to have fun, Kashuan had always cared for the boy and she knew that he would continue to do so once she wasn't there anymore.

"Mom?"

Kiris looked up and saw her son standing in front of her.

"Are you ok?" he asked slightly worried.

"I am," she answered. "I was just thinking."

"Hm," Kagato nodded and his face lit up. "Kashuan is here and we are going to fight now."

Kiris' glance wandered to the tall figure standing near the entrance.

"Hello, Kiris," he said smiling. "Don't worry about him. By now he's good enough to hold himself against me, I think."

Kagato bowed down towards his mother and whispered into her ear. "He promised to take me to the surface if I manage to do so."

"Well," Kiris shrugged it off with a sigh. "I can't stop you anyway, can I?"

Kagato shook his head slightly.

"But," she addressed Kashuan, "Be careful so he won't get hurt."

"I will," the blond man promised.

* * *

Taking a firm stance, all his muscles tensed Kagato was waiting for the fight to start. His fingers were holding the lance tightly in front of his body. He was ready.

"All right," Kashuan drew his sword and moved into an attack position. "Because my weapon is much more powerful than yours, I will go easy on you." His voice was mocking.

"You don't have to, unless you want to be beaten," Kagato replied, annoyed by his demeanor.

Kashuan smiled and with a faint hiss his light sword was activated.

"Wow!" Kagato shouted starring at the dark, shining blade. His mother had told him that Kashuan was in possession of a black light sword, but since he had never brought it along, Kagato had had no idea of how beautiful it was. Although the pirate was standing at least three meters away from him, he could almost feel its energy.

"Impressive, isn't it?" Kashuan let the blade glide though the air. "Still willing to fight me?"

Kagato returned Kashuan's resolute gaze and nodded.

"Okay. Block or avoid at least five of my attacks and I will give you a free ride to the surface."

"It's a deal," Kagato answered and tensed again.

Without saying another word Kashuan swung his sword and started his first attack.

Kagato saw the black blade tearing towards him and jumped aside, but Kashuan was incredibly fast. Just in time Kagato brought his lance up over his head. The light sword met the wood producing a terrible sound. For a second Kagato thought that his weak weapon would simply be cut in two by the powerful blade, but much to his surprise it actually held. Realizing that there wasn't much force behind it anymore, Kagato pushed at the enemy sword and used the opening to quickly retreat a few steps.

"Well done," Kashuan stated. "Four more to go, but be prepared. It's no game anymore."

Kagato concentrated on becoming one with his weapon and for endless moments they just stood there starring down each other.

Suddenly Kashuan jumped forward. His blade moved in a wide arc from the left towards Kagato's body. Kagato grabbed his lance with both hands and was about to block the attack like the one before as he noticed that it was only a feint.

The black blade changed direction slightly and moved towards his head now. Kagato tried to bring up his weapon and jump back at the same time. He failed at both.

As he stumbled to ground awkwardly he could almost feel the draft of the blade cutting through the air next to him. But instead of giving him time to get up the pirate launched another attack already. Kagato rolled aside and saw that the light sword made contact with the stones of the ground just a few inches beside his head.

"Do you want to kill me?" he shouted angrily as he hurried to get up. But the pirate just looked at him coldly. There was no expression on his face and his blue eyes weren't gentle anymore. Watching the tall pirate lifting the black blade, Kagato felt a shiver running down his spine.

His fingers clenched around the stun lance. No matter how skilled Kashuan was, never would he give up. Only three more attacks he had to survive and his greatest wish would be granted. Suddenly Kagato felt a strange emotion but before he was able to put a finger on it, it was already gone.

Holding his blade with both hands in front of his body Kashuan made a step forward. But Kagato didn't fall back. He raised his lance in the same way as Kashuan and tried to prepare himself for a powerful blow.

Feeling the strong determination of the boy in spite of his chances for success, a smile appeared on Kashuan's face.

"What's there to grin about?" the boy asked.

"Nothing," Kashuan replied, now serious and swung to strike.

The weapons crashed into each other again and again. Much to Kashuan's surprise the boy was able to parry the first two blows. But the third forced him to fall back. The fourth missed the boy's shoulder only because he turned away at the right time. The fifth could have killed him easily but of course that wasn't what Kashuan intended to do. He moved a little slower so that the boy was able to bring his lance up again but still fast enough to force him to fall back more and more.

Another mighty strike hit Kagato's lance and suddenly his back made contact with the wet coldness of the wall. There was no room to back away anymore, but Kashuan obviously didn't even think about stopping his attacks.

The black blade cut through the air with incredible speed. Kagato tensed, but still a terrible pain shot up through his arms as he blocked the downward slash with his own weapon. He was pushed against the wall roughly.

Kashuan raised his sword again, in order to repeat the same attack once more. But this time the blow would be much more powerful. Kagato's concentration slipped. As he watched Kashuan's blade moving towards him, his connection to the lance broke down completely.

The black energy cut through the wood like butter. Suddenly the world seemed to slow down around him. Kagato knew that he had no chance to avoid the deadly blow anymore. He felt cheated that he would never see the sun and the trees of Jurai now. Anger walled up inside of him.

Kashuan was shocked about the power of his own weapon but he was unable to stop the attack now. He thought about all the effort and how it had all been in vain after all.

His blade cast a dark glow on the boy's skin. Suddenly another color mixed into it and before Kashuan realized what was happening his weapon met a resistance which was neither flesh nor bone.

Kagato was feeling strange. Enormous power was flowing through him, yet it drained his own energy at the same time.

The faint blue light around him vanished as quickly as it had appeared and Kagato sank to ground, breathing heavily.

Kashuan deactivated his sword.

"Quite a show, boy," he said smiling and extended his hand to help Kagato up. But the boy just looked at him in shock.

"What was that? I mean... why did you never show me... how to create a shield?"

"Well," the pirate shrugged. "Maybe because only people of royal blood command this kind of power."

"What power?" Without thinking Kagato grabbed Kashuan's hand and stood. His mind was somewhat fuzzy but the thought of the newly gained power chased the dizziness away.

"Your mother never told you, did she?" Kashuan shook his head slightly and continued in a very serious tone. "The members of royal houses are different than normal Juraians. It is said that their fighting skill is perfection. They are able to shield themselves by a bright shining light and..." he hesitated wondering if it was wise to tell the boy already. But Kagato's curious glance urged him on. "They can bind to a mighty tree ship and access its power as well. This is the very power that allowed them to retain their control over the empire for so long."

Kagato just starred at him for a few seconds, then he blinked.

"So you're taking me to the surface now?"

Kashuan laughed. "I will. But not now. I have to talk to your mother first and if she agrees I will take you the next time I come. Okay?"

Kagato wasn't pleased by this answer but he nodded. He had been waiting for so long, what did one more week matter now?

"Okay," he said and hurried as fast as his weakened legs would carry him back to the cave.

Kashuan put away the hilt of his sword and followed him slowly.

The boy had actually discovered part of his power. So the first step had been done. Now it was at Kagato to learn how to use it. Everything else would come by itself.

* * *

Chapter notes:

First, thanks for reading. For those of you who were surprised by the strange relationships between characters, please be reminded that this is an AU story. However, the relationships are exactly the same as in our main story "Purity and Corruption", in which they were introduced.

So finally the main character of this side-story has made his appearance. He has not yet develloped into the character we have gotten to know in P&C, but rest assured that he will grow up quickly within the next chapters.

What do you think about the dark athmosphere of the sewer system? My brother keeps telling me that this is the best chapter so far. I think I agree, but only because the characters were much easier to handle than before.

Well, maybe I'm going to get lucky and get a review this time... in case there is still someone out there reading this.

Yours Tamrin

And again: Thanks to Kryo who managed to check the chapter within very short time.


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